The Greatest Betrayal
by Breech Loader
Summary: Sonic's friends are being systematically stalked and attacked by a vengeful maniac. But are things really as they seem, and even if they were, would it make a difference? Sonic has to save his friends from a monster. And of course the price for betrayal should be death, but in the end, just who betrayed whom? Tort, N/C, Death, Minor, Humil.
1. Prologue

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: I wrote this story – or something like it - before, a while ago. It's actually been toned DOWN since then. Well, at the start anyway. And there's been more characters added to the fandom since then, so I'm gonna need a couple of extra chapters to rip some more people apart. It's mostly an AU. It splits shortly after SA2 and continues whenever Sonic and co are five years older than they are now. Since it's right there in the Summary I might as well admit, yes, it has to do with Shadow.

It's right there in the summary. This story is M-rated. It's in the Horror genre. It's also Suspense, so it's designed to freak you out too. And you know what the thing about M-rated stories is? They contain material not suitable for the weak of stomach. This story will have vicious rape and horrible murder. Anybody can die. I'll prove it.

* * *

Prologue...

Falling… he was _falling_…

And burning… He _burned_.

"Maria… this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise that I made for you…"

Chaos Emeralds were falling near him, their power all but exhausted. He was exhausted too, and his power from ditching one of his Inhibitor Rings was so _drained_. But he could tell; he could always tell… Just a tiny amount… the tiniest fraction. But maybe just enough. He reached out, grasping for the nearest one. It glanced off his hand.

"Damn… come _on_…"

Again. The heat from entering the atmosphere was increasing.

"I don't want to die…"

It glanced off again. He growled, summoning up every fraction of determination as the friction heat against his fur rose ever further.

"COME ON YOU SONUVA-" _got it_, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

He felt his body twist in agony as the teleportation sucked energy not just out of the emerald, but out of him too. There was a flash.

Then he felt his body collide with the ground harder than any other hit he had ever taken in any of his memories, and in the same instant of pain his world went black.

* * *

When Shadow woke up, it was to the sound of monitors beeping. He remembered that sound; he'd spent most of his life having his vital signs monitored in one way or another. But apart from the light that those machines gave off, there was no other light.

When he tried to sit up, his hands and feet turned out to have metal restraints keeping him on a table. Strong restraints too; thick. A lot of things were hooked up to him too; analysing him. He didn't call out. Whoever had done this was probably not somebody he currently wanted to alert to his wakefulness.

His body ached completely and without any repent. His fur felt singed all over and… when he twisted, he had to bite back a cry of agony. He felt like he had a few broken bones. Some attention revealed that there were binds on his body keeping them straight.

"Vital signs have altered. Subject: Shadow the Hedgehog is now conscious."

"Damn."

After a couple of minutes a door opened and a shadowy figure entered, "Well, well, Shadow. You lived. And you're already healing well. It's good that you're awake."

"Doctor Eggman?" Shadow glared into the darkness, "Where am I? Did you bring me here? No, fuck all that. I order you to release me from these bonds!"

"Not right now."

"Yes right now! I am Shadow the fucking Hedgehog! I am the Ultimate fucking Lifeform! You have to let me up sometime, and if it's not now I'll twist your damn head off!" Shadow struggled, and held back his yelp of pain.

"Now, now, Shadow. If I let you up, you would just hurt yourself again. I'm your friend, remember? We helped each other. And then when I found you bleeding and broken, I took you in when most people would have left you to die."

"Hmmph," Shadow wasn't convinced, "What am I doing here, strapped to your lab table, if we're friends?"

"Healing, of course. You've been unconscious for over a month. If you think a few cracked ribs are feeling bad, you should have seen the state of you when you first came in. Look…" Doctor Eggman pressed a button and a picture came up.

"Oh."

"Yes, you did look quite dead. Most people wouldn't even have checked for a pulse. But I know that the Ultimate Lifeform wouldn't have been killed by a mere fall from space."

Shadow considered this through the clouds of pain, "Well, why am I here?"

"Because I'm the only person you can trust."

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Bullshit. Sonic and his cronies are infinitely more trustworthy than you are. You were using me to try to take over the Earth."

"And you were using _me_ to help you _destroy_ the Earth."

"Hmmm. Touché," Shadow gave this thought some silent analysis. Trust Eggman. Yeah, right. Shadow knew he had been the bad guy a lot recently, but at least he'd been under orders. Kind of, "Doesn't mean I trust you though. Just what are you up to, Doctor?"

"I'm glad you asked, Shadow! After you fell from space and I found you and saved you, I became concerned that your memories might have been addled somewhat. Can you tell me, how did you fall exactly?"

"Easily," Shadow nodded, "Myself and Sonic were bringing up the Ark with Chaos Control. He was losing power, so I gave him a boost and let myself-"

"WRONG ANSWER!" Eggman yelled. And without warning, the table Shadow was on, was tilted right back into a bathtub of water. Filled with ice-cubes. Shadow screamed in shock, and the water filled his mouth and nose. It blinded him. And the cold… the cold _burned_. He gave a spasm, and screamed some more as his ribs gave another boost to the agony. Oh god, the cold was like space, like well-forged steel, like death…

Just when he thought the Doctor was going to drown him, he was pulled up again, coughing and spluttering and shivering. It wasn't a phobia but he had never liked water much. It reminded him of about a million imaginative ways the scientists on the Ark had tested him, "ASSHOLE! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"I'm your friend, and I'm trying to help you," Eggman told him, rubbing his hands as his moustache quivered, "You didn't let go of Sonic. You were _dropped_." Shadow coughed out more water, "Sonic _dropped_ you."

"Don't bullshit your bullshit at me, Doctor Butterball! I let go because-"

Before Shadow could even finish his sentence, he was plunged back into the water again, and somehow this time it felt even worse. When he was finally raised back out his lips were blue and he couldn't speak for shivering. He gasped for air, wondering what the hell Eggman was up to.

Eggman spoke for him, "What you think isn't what is true. It's just what you _wish_ was true. You are the Ultimate Lifeform. Don't let that cheap copy fool you. He saw you could be so much stronger than him. He was afraid of you. So he let you fall."

"No, that wasn't how it-"

Shadow was surrounded by the coldness again, nerves twanging and muscles screaming. It tore into him like daggers of ice and set his heart thudding until he thought it would burst from the pain. This time he thought Eggman was going to drown him. He felt like he was held even longer before being lifted out again.

"Don't you understand, Shadow? This is for your own good. You can trust me."

"Trust you?! You're… you're _waterboarding_ me and you're saying I can _trust_ you?!"

"I'm looking out for your best interests, Shadow. It takes a lot for you to get hold of a new idea. I'd hoped you would believe me straight away, but I see now that you are giving me no choice. If you continue to refuse…"

Shadow cried out sharply as he was dunked again.

* * *

He was stubborn, and determined. The Doctor praised him for it often.

But he was kept on the table for a long time; the only clock he had was his own heartbeat. He slept when the Doctor allowed him to. A good night's sleep might be days apart, and he wasn't always sure what he'd done to earn it. He ate what the Doctor wanted him to, not that it made much difference because he was fed through a tube that would be pushed all the way down his throat to keep him from being unrestrained.

But he could trust the Doctor to feed him, and keep him healthy. And every time he admitted that, the Doctor unshackled his legs for a few hours. He couldn't move them for ages thanks to agonising cramps. But it was something.

Not that it ended there. The one thing Eggman was most adamant about, was that liars and fakes should be punished. Always. Whenever he lied, whenever he couldn't accept the truth, whenever he lied about accepting the truth, he would be punished. It wasn't just with water. Sometimes there were needles. Sometimes blades. Sometimes electricity. Sometimes he might be drugged and then it wouldn't be until later that he would feel whatever pain the side effects brought on.

It was hard going. Sometimes the things Eggman told him didn't make sense. They were so confusing… if he didn't understand, he had to be punished. So eventually he started thinking up ways for them to make sense.

He needed to really corkscrew some of them… it was so hard sometimes… But he was the Ultimate Lifeform. He could do it.

But eventually… one day he found it in himself to admit it. It took time. But he learned new things.

Like, Doctor Robotnik was a good man. Admittedly a fat, rather arrogant man with a face that had been badly savaged by a moustache and a voice that turned orders for salad into deep-fried Mars-Bars wrapped in a bacon sandwich… but definitely a good man. And finally he was unrestrained, and allowed to train once more. It took ages before he could move again at any kind of speed thanks to stiffness, cramps and muscle weakness. But he built himself up again. And learned new skills too...

* * *

And as time passed and he saw how Sonic and his friends behaved through the monitors, he finally realised that Doctor Robotnik was his only friend. They were so stupid. They just accepted that inferior fake as him, and didn't even question where the real thing might be.

And knowing that made it all the more painful that he found himself hating Robotnik. A lot. He hated saying that the Doctor was his friend when he didn't like him at all, too. And he hated being so reliant. So he pushed those thoughts away, deep down, because they didn't belong.

He wasn't sure how long it took. But no matter his confusion, eventually he was sure of two things.

He was the original Shadow the Hedgehog; the Ultimate Lifeform.

And he hated Sonic the Hedgehog more than anything in the world.

* * *

Breech: This chapter is NOT an indicator of the horribleness to come. Things are gonna get infinitely nastier. That's my warning.


	2. Betrayal Of Time

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: Normally I love torture scenes but I don't have time for five years of them running. So let's pull a nice time-skip. This continues sometime around now. And since time has passed since SA2, everybody's five years older. I don't know… I'm not responsible for the way Sonic Team messes around with their characters' ages.

* * *

Chapter Two: Betrayal Of Time

Five Years Later…

Sonic didn't clean up in his house often. It was an unashamed bachelor's pad and, both Amy and Tails had complained, closely resembled a rubbish tip that had been turned inside out.

However, he did clean up at least once a year, and right now he couldn't help but show off a little as he was cleaning up his trophies. Obviously no conventional events would allow a guy who could run at the speed of sound, and Sonic's ego was far too high to sneak in under a false name and let that fake guy take all the credit.

But obviously there were _unconventional_ events, like the Super-Olympics that took place inbetween dimensions and involved the Sonic Team and Mario World residents. At least they could give him a little challenge. Slightly.

"Sonic," Tails had been contemplating using a shovel, but continued picking up chilli dog-ends and pizza boxes off the couch, "I know you love winning, but have you ever considered, like… competing in something other than running? Proving you're great in other ways?"

Sonic shook his head at the 16-year-old fox, "Tails, if there's one thing I've learnt, it's that if you're good at something, keep doing it. So, I'll keep running, you keep flying, Knuckles can keep losing the Master Emerald, Amy can keep stalking me, and Shadow can keep looking like a kicked dog, and everybody will be happy. Except Knuckles and Shadow."

To tell the truth, he kind of liked Amy now. It felt weird admitting it even to himself, considering he'd spent years running away from her. He was 20 and she was 19. Maybe he just didn't feel it was so creepy, since she was more mature. And had some pretty nice cans.

"Yeah, but-" Tails stopped, his hand on a pizza slice. It had been under the couch for almost a month, "OH! EW! Gross!" They smacked it off quickly – it was too mouldy for even Sonic to eat, and Tails continued, "You're not the only fast guy. You don't need medals to know that. Shadow and Amy are both fast too."

"Pfft. Shadow won gold in 100 Meters, didn't he? I'm not slowing down to give his ego a boost in the 1000 Meters too."

"Well, I can't make you. I just thought you should give other people a chance. You've seen the face he makes when he comes second."

"Tails, that is the face he makes when he does anything at all. Now come on, we agreed. You help me with my place, I help you with your place," This could be said; Tails' house was almost as messy as Sonic's. In order they went Sonic, Tails, Knuckles – whose house looked like it had been hit by an impromptu mudslide - and then Cream, Blaze Rouge, Silver – the guy could tidy up by twitching his damn fingers and was always trying to do it at Sonic's house - and tidiest of all, Amy. Sonic had no idea where Shadow lived at this moment, since he had a tendency to move before he could even get his suitcases unpacked, but had to assume that when the black and red hedgehog wasn't grubbing a spare bedroom off Rouge, kept a very tidy park bench somewhere.

The main difference between him and Tails was that Tails tidied up his house about twice a year. It was still a real grind though.

Then the phone rang.

So it gained considerable relief for both Sonic and Tails, making a marvellous distraction from them being forced to break out a lawnmower or something to get the mould off the carpet. Tails picked it up and listened, then handed it over to Sonic, "It's for you," he stated, confusion on his face, "It doesn't sound like Amy…"

Sonic accepted the phone, leaning on a wall, "Sonic's Super-Blue Super-New Pizza Delivery Service here, Manager Sonic speaking," he joked as he picked up a half-eaten packet of chips from a nearby table.

"_Hello, Sonic," _a soft voice stated on the other end. Nothing more was forthcoming but he could hear them breathing.

"Uh, hey there… Who is this?" Sonic asked, a little confused.

"_That's for me to know and you to find out," _the voice told him. It sounded familiar, but at the same time as if it was being masked.

"Uh-huh… Listen dude, what the hell is this about?"

"Who is it, Sonic?" Tails asked, trying to stomp down three pizza boxes into a wastepaper basket.

"I don't know. Some creepy freak," Sonic told him. The voice was familiar in some way, but heavily masked.

"_I heard that!"_ the voice snapped, _"I'm just calling to find out how you're doing. Still breathing, I hear. All your limbs attached? Still got that vacuous space between your pretty-boy ears?"_

"Uh… Knuckles? Is that you?" Sonic hazarded.

"_Why would that thick-skulled blockhead call you?_" the voice asked, _"No. No. I'm somebody you left behind…"_

"You're not helping," Sonic tried to make light of the situation, "I'm trying to clean out my house without busting out a plough, so just get lost and make your creepy calls in the morning-"

"_IF YOU HANG UP ON ME I'LL GUT YOUR FOX-BUDDY TAILS LIKE A FISH!"_ the voice howled. Sonic froze up, _"That's right… I know all your friends…"_

Behind him, Tails was shivering, "Sonic… who is this guy?" he asked.

Sonic stared at the phone, "You know what, dude? If you touch Tails, or any of my friends, I'll gut you. But hey, I'm all up for games. So what the hell do you want?"

"_You betrayed me, Sonic,"_ the voice told him, _"I trusted you, and you betrayed me."_

"Uh… issat you, Mighty? Cus you know, that wasn't my choice."

"_Who the hell is Mighty?"_ the voice asked.

"Oh."

"_Now shut your trap for once in your stupid life and listen to me,"_ the voice snarled, "_You left me behind. And now you're going to pay. I thought you were my friend…"_ the voice choked for a moment, _"But you're like that, aren't you Sonic? You have lots of friends, so you don't really value them. You use people."_

"My friends mean everything to me, sicko," Sonic growled, "If you want to hurt them, you'll have to go through me. I don't care about who you are anymore."

"_No… you didn't, did you…"_ the voice chuckled, _"But you will. You'll learn to care. And you'll learn the hard way, like I did…"_

The phone on the other end switched off. Sonic stared for a moment, then pressed redial furiously. It rang for a second, suggesting he'd gotten a number, then hit the 'No Signal' tone.

Sonic just stared at his phone. He didn't usually get threatening calls. He was, after all, a hero. And none of his friends would make a joke as bad as that… would they? Maybe it was Eggman, but it didn't seem his style. He dropped the phone back onto its receiver quietly, feeling sick. Somebody he'd left behind? He left lots of people behind when he was running. But he'd never leave his friends behind. He'd never betrayed anybody.

"Sonic?" he turned to look at Tails, who looked scared, "Sonic… who was that?"

"Some psycho-freak who gets off on making meaningless threatening phone calls," Sonic tried to pass it off as nothing, "He's probably jerking off right now in Shatar."

"Sonic… are they gonna try to hurt one of us?"

Sonic smiled again, "Tails, listen to me. This guy called us up because he's a gutless coward, too scared to say all his bullshit face to face. And even if he comes by and tries to hurt any one of my friends? I'll kick his ass so hard he'll be shitting through the top of his head." He kept Tails' gaze.

Tails smiled, "I bet you will."

"Now come on!" Sonic threw the phone call behind him as he always did with anything unpleasant, "I think it's time to break out the shovels!"

* * *

On a rooftop opposite Sonic's house, a figure stood, shrouded in a duster and hooded. Even as he hung up on the call, he crunched the phone up in one hand, and dropped it. He'd stolen it anyway, along with about seventy bucks, from some woman in the street.

"Sonic…" the black and red hedgehog growled, "You miserable piece-of-shit-for-brains faker… You betray me? Well, two can play at that game. And you like games, don't you? Well… game on…"

He stood there for a while, thinking. Rationalising. It wasn't just him, after all. He used everybody. Shadow had been woken up to the truth; Sonic was selfish and arrogant. He deserved to be taught a lesson. A slow and painful lesson. If others would not listen, then they were too stupid to live. Yes, that worked.

The voices in his head started clamouring for his attention, as they always did now when his thought remained dormant for too long.

_Go in there. Kill him now. While he's off his guard._

_No, that's too easy. All you have to do is turn up on his doorstep and slash his throat. That's too quick for him. Catch him. Then torture him to death. It could take months!_

Shadow rubbed at his scars, "I know the plan, so will you just SHUT UP for once?!" he asked them sharply, "You _know_ that a slow and painful death is far too good for him. And if I go rushing in, it's the best we can do. He needs to know what real pain feels like. He needs to know what it feels like… to lose everything! For everybody he loves to suffer!"

_You're right._

Shadow picked at his scars a little out of habit, and laughed mockingly, "Watch, Sonic. Watch, as your life is torn apart like tissue paper. We'll see how proud and arrogant you are when you find out how helpless you are to protect those you care for… as I did… When you look at your friends covered in blood and their guts all over the floor!"

_There's no part of this plan I don't like!_

"As for you?" Shadow turned to the body heaving laboured breaths behind him, "It's nothing personal, but I honestly can't stand to look you in the face for one second longer."

He strode forward and stamped on his neck with a *crunch*.

"Now the only question is, where am I going to find a fridge big enough for you?"

He laughed sadistically, then heaved the body over his shoulder, before laboriously making his way back to the dirty cellar located under the abandoned house that currently compromised of his lodgings.

* * *

Breech: As well as being important to plot, these are basically 'warm-up' chapters, gently filtering out the people who don't want torture or… well, whatever else you read from these chapters and don't like. Because from this chapter on, Shadow gets a lot nastier.


	3. Betrayal Of Innocence

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: Well, I see you're back! Since you've been warned and keep on coming, I feel it is only fair to point out that old adage; we watch a fuck movie for the fucking. This is probably the most horrible chapter in the fanfic. But it's not the only horrible chapter. Just saying.

One of the editations to this story from the original was that everybody's been aged five years from their current canon ages. It slightly cushions the horribleness. Although not by much.

* * *

Chapter Three: Betrayal Of Innocence

A 19-year-old Amy Rose Blossom led the 11-year-old Cream through a large shopping mall, with Cheese close to her. They alternated between toy stores and clothes shops, both as enthusiastically for one as the other. Amy was dressed in her Riders outfit. Her hands were filled with bags filled with new clothes, but her arm linked with Cream's. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement as they went from store to store.

"Amy, why do you buy so many clothes?" Cream asked her, "Do they make you feel good about yourself?"

"Well, partly," Amy admitted, "But the _biggest_ rush I get is about trying them on!" her cheeks were flushed with excitement, "There's no real fun in shopping for clothes alone, Cream." Her young rabbit friend was just starting to get into that sort of thing. True, Amy was practically babysitting her, but Cream was so innocent and sweet that it was a pleasure.

"But what happens when you get tired of shopping for clothes?" Cream asked her as she held up several bows to Cheese's little neck.

"Well, that's when I start shopping for shoes," Amy smiled, and picked out a sweet, modest little number for Cream, "Here, we'll go to the changing rooms, and you can try this on. If you need any help, call for me."

Neither one of them had noticed that another hedgehog; a darker one with no bags and his hood up, was following them both, walking smoothly through the crowds and keeping his head down. And muttering complaints to himself about the heat and weight of the heavy trench-coat he was wearing.

Cream darted out of her changing room, smiling broadly at Amy, who clapped her hands, "Oh Cream, you look so sweet!" the pink hedgehog enthused, as Cream smiled at herself in a mirror, "Do you like it?"

"Yes, Amy!" Cream returned, "I'll go change back and then-"

"And then, it's my turn," Amy grinned, "You wait here while I change. Don't go anywhere."

She was in the changing room, when Cream became aware of a looming presence behind her. She turned to see Shadow the Hedgehog. The last time she'd seen him was at the Super-Olympics about a month ago, "Oh, hello Shadow," she smiled up at him, "It's so nice to see you! What are you shopping for?"

Shadow smiled back, trying to put on his 'Everything is okay' face. It wasn't easy; he didn't have much practice. He avoided the question, "It's nice to see you too, Cream. I was looking for you. I need to talk to you for a minute." He spoke softly and calmly, offering his hand.

Cream hesitated, "But Miss Amy-"

"Oh, don't worry. Your mother's here. She told me to look for you. You and Cheese need to come with me…" he kept up the smile. Cream had better hurry up; his face was hurting from smiling like this, "It's very important."

"If you're sure…" Cream took his hand.

"Oh Cream, when have I ever been wrong about anything?" Shadow asked her as he led her away. He kept a firm, but painless grip on her hand, and quickly positioned himself so that his coat shrouded both her and Cheese.

"Well, there was that time-"

"I mean, about _important_ things."

"Well, I suppose so…"

"Besides, you're such a big girl now," Shadow replaced his smile with a more neutral, less painful, expression, "I'm sure Amy won't be worried if you were away for a few minutes."

They exited the store.

* * *

Amy left the changing room with different clothes, "Ta-DA!" she smiled at Cream. Then she stopped, "Cream?"

Maybe Cream had just moved to somewhere else in the changing rooms? She scouted briefly, but with no success. She turned to a shop assistant, "Excuse me ma'am, have you seen a little girl rabbit? About yay tall? Or a Chao with a red bow around his neck?"

"Hmmm?" the shop assistant looked hassled, but glanced around, "Well, there was one here a few minutes ago, but… she's not here now. Are you looking for her?"

The colour was draining from Amy's cheeks in concern, "Yes… I'm sure it's nothing but… I have to-"

"Ma'am, I'm sure it's okay, just change back into your clothes, I'll keep an eye out, and then-"

But Amy was already back in the changing room, kicking the shop clothes off and pulling on her regular clothes. She darted out, "Did you see her?"

At the shake of the shop assistant's head, she dashed off, turning to every person she saw and scouring between the clothes racks, "Have you seen a little girl rabbit?" Everybody tried to comfort her by telling her that she had probably just wandered off, as children do. It was such a bright and blessed day, and the shops were full of people. But that just left all the more people to ask; all the more crowds to search.

Eventually she got an answer, and it didn't allay her fear.

"I think I saw a little girl rabbit… I noticed her, I think, because the hedgehog holding her was so strange. She was so happy and he seemed so… sad, you could say. I think they headed towards the ice-cream stand."

And indeed, the ice-cream man had seen a hooded hedgehog leading a little girl rabbit and a Chao. The hedgehog had paid for an ice-cream for her, and then moved on calmly.

And however Amy searched, and begged, and cried, and however loudly the loudspeakers requested a little rabbit called Cream to report to the information desk… that was it. The trail ended there, and beyond that it was as if the little girl and her Chao had vanished into thin air.

* * *

Long before Amy had completed her desperate search of the Mall, Shadow was already some way away from it with Cream, walking swiftly with his hood still up. Cream had finished her ice-cream by now. It had kept her and the little Chao quiet for a bit, but now she had started talking again.

"Mister Shadow, where's my momma?"

"Be quiet."

Cream felt nervous, "Mister Shadow, where are you taking me?"

"I told you to be _quiet_."

Cream tried to pull her hand out of Shadow's grip, "I want to see my momma!"

Shadow's grasp simply tightened on her hand, and he grabbed hold of Cheese too, holding the tiny Chao by the wings, "I'm good at waiting. But if you keep testing my patience like this, I will rip your pet's wings off. And if he attempts to draw attention to the situation…" he glanced at the blue chao, "I will hurt your… friend."

Cream paled, "But… Mister Shadow…" her voice dropped to a whisper, "Where…"

"Hell."

"That's a bad word!" Cream gasped, "Please, Mister Shadow, I don't understand! Where's my momma? She's not here, is she?"

"No. She's not." Shadow glanced around. There were crowds of people everywhere. Perfect. When everybody was a witness, nobody was.

"You _lied?_ Why? What… what are you doing? Where are we going?"

"I already told you," Shadow crushed Cheese's neck in one hand, and scooped Cream up into his arms even as she was silenced by terror and shock, "Hell."

The dark hedgehog accelerated away, his hood and coat making him look like some kind of Grim Reaper.

Perhaps in a way, he was.

* * *

The basement was two hour's fast walk for a normal person. For Shadow, it was a ten minute jog. He entered and turned on the light. He set Cream down in the middle of the room, looking down at her.

Cream was still crying from Cheese's abrupt death, and looked around at the room. It was dreadful. It was cold and damp. The walls had been packed with straw. The ceiling was padded. There was one window high up and it had been boarded up. Light was not welcome here.

In one corner there was a large chest-freezer. In the other there was a filthy mattress. In the third there was a table and chair with some junk scattered all over it. Nothing else. She looked around, trembling.

"Sh-Shadow? What is this horrible place? Surely you don't l-live here?"

"A temporary measure only…" Shadow locked the door at the top of the steps, then strode forward to stand over her, "Now… you'd be eleven years old, wouldn't you Cream?"

"Yes…" Cream flinched away, "Why… why did you lock the door? Is… is it to keep other people out?"

"I'm not afraid of them. I'm not afraid of anybody. No, Cream… it's to keep you _in_…" Shadow's voice dropped to a hiss.

"Shadow… Why are you doing this?! Don't you remember the time you saved me? In Cryptic Castle! You had nothing to gain and yet-"

"NO!" Shadow backhanded the little rabbit to the floor, "OF COURSE I REMEMBER!" his voice became a scream, "I SAW! I SAW! I SAW IT ALL! I WOULD HAVE! I SWEAR IT! BUT YOU NEVER GAVE ME A CHANCE!"

Cream looked up at Shadow, shocked and terrified, "You… Why are you doing this?!" she started shaking even more as he picked her up by her shirt. By now she was convinced that he was going to do something truly terrible to her, "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Shadow laughed sadistically, "HELP! HELP! HELP ME!" he screamed out loud, mockingly – even louder than Cream, in fact. He looked into her eyes, "You can keep screaming, if you like. In fact, I'd prefer it that way."

Cream stared into his red eyes, burning with a terrifying intensity. She'd seen Shadow in hardcore action before, but she hadn't known his eyes could ever look like this when he was being normal – or normal for Shadow, anyway. They were wild and crazed and full of hate and violence. He kept her gaze, twitching slightly. She remembered some of what she had been told after Shadow had stopped the Black Arms.

"Are… are you really Shadow?" she whispered.

His eyes narrowed. Then he flung her across the room, and she landed on the horrible mattress where he slept, "YES! I AM REALLY SHADOW!" he screamed, "I AM THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM!"

Cream screamed and started to crawl away, crying.

"DO YOU DOUBT ME?!" he bellowed at her, snatching her arm and shaking her until her teeth rattled. She had no time to answer though, because he stopped and let go of her, "It doesn't matter any more though. Nothing does…"

Cream ran up the stairs and started heaving at the locked door, beating on it as she cried, "Amy and my momma and the police will be here soon! And they'll catch you and make you sorry!"

Shadow watched her tugging on the door-handle dispassionately. She wasn't going to get out, "No, they won't. Not in time, anyway. Not at all, in fact." He walked towards her up the steps, and caught her up in his powerful arms, carrying her back down the stairs, "Now…" he smirked cruelly and set her back on the floor, holding her shoulders with a crushing grip, "Shall we start?"

"St-start what?" Cream wept.

"Sonic's punishment, of course," Shadow walked over to the table. He picked up a sharp knife. The before she could make another move, he dashed over and stabbed her in the leg, deep.

Cream screamed in agony, staring at Shadow's wild eyes. He dragged the knife out, staring at it for a long moment as if he'd never seen blood before. Then he turned his attention back to Cream, and this time a wicked grin spread over his face.

Cream was screaming and crying. Her leg hurt so badly. She had been bumped around in her adventures before, but nothing had hurt as badly as this. The hurt was made worse by the fact that it was a friend who was standing over her.

Shadow dropped the knife. Stabbing was good, but it wasn't going to be enough. Not for the message he planned to send to Sonic, anyway. With one hand he yanked down Cream's skirt and undies.

"What are you doing?!" Cream shrieked, "That's wicked! You must never ever _ever_-" She started struggling again, even though it sent pain raging through her leg as she did so. Shadow was stroking a finger at the little slit there.

Shadow knew what he was doing. So maybe that was why he paused and stopped. He walked up to the door. He didn't leave though. He rested his head on it.

"What the hell am I doing?" he muttered to himself, half listening to the terrified crying behind him, "_She_ never hurt me… the others yes, but she… And he hardly even…"

_You must start somewhere._

_Yes, can you imagine Amy's face? And can you imagine Sonic's face at Amy's face?_

"Yes… I can…"

_You know it's already too late to turn back._

"Yes… but she's only 11…" Shadow was staring at his hands. Behind him, Cream's screams were dying down into crying, "She's not even-"

_The first time is always the hardest. It'll get easier. Trust us._

_Look, we'll help you…_

Shadow hesitated. Then fierce images vaulted through his head… a million images of him with Sonic, and all of Sonic's friends, all of them being happy together. Now he was the one to scream, clutching his head and pulling at his quills. The images passed in a second, but the imprint was painful.

Shadow straightened and turned sharply to Cream. His vision kept blurring, "I HAVE TO DO THIS!" he screamed, "YOU ALL LEFT ME BEHIND! YOU BETRAYED ME! YOU MOCKED ME TO MY VERY FACE!" He rushed back down the stairs, snatching up the knife again.

"HOW? HOW?!" Cream wailed.

Shadow didn't answer her. He spun around and grabbed some duct tape from the table. Then he used it to tape Cream's mouth shut, listening to her terrifying mumblings, "I can do this, I can do this," he growled to himself, kneeling on top of her. Then he started to rub at himself between the thighs.

Cream's muffled terror and wide eyes kept him looking up at the ceiling, despite the voices howling at him to look back down at her. He wasn't sure what to think of, so he concentrated on Sonic's pain; Sonic's fear and rage. Soon enough he was hard.

Cream kept staring at the hardening organ she had only known about from sex education books. Her mother had told her that people who touched themselves there went blind. She tried to rip off the duct tape with her hands, but when Shadow heard her, he stabbed her twice more, his teeth gritted in crazed rage as the knife entered one arm, then the other.

He looked up at the ceiling as he forced his way into Cream with his cock bone-dry. She was letting out muffled shrieks by now. He couldn't look down, or he might stop, and then the voices would show him how he had been betrayed so badly, again.

_They turned on you. This is no more than the world deserves…_

"SHUT UP! WE'RE DOING IT!"

Beneath him, Cream was almost blinded with pain and terror. She was trying to kick out, but Shadow was so much heavier than her. Still, she could just about see how Shadow was screaming, not at her but up, as she was mercilessly violated. And he was crying. What did he have to cry about?

Shadow reached down and grabbed her undeveloped chest, squeezing until his nails dug in and drew blood. He kept thrusting, tearing her, since she was far too small for him. He couldn't get all the way in on his first try, or even his second, but he kept going.

"IT'S GONNA BE OKAY!" he screamed at himself between grunts, "IT'S GONNA BE OKAY!"

And then it was the tightness, and the muscle stimulation, that made him come in her. She was still wailing despite the duct tape. She had no idea of what was happening now. Her momma had always been clear that only the very wickedest of people would ever do something like this. Even in her foulest of nightmares she had never imagined that somebody she knew might do this.

Shadow pulled out, and released the last of his seed on her body and face. And finally, he looked down again, tears of anger and even confusion running down his face, and pretended to himself that he hadn't done this as she cried. He ripped the tape off her mouth again.

Cream started screaming, "You're going to Hell! You're going to Hell!"

"NO! I'VE BEEN!" Shadow backhanded her, "Sonic always treats everything like a game, doesn't he? Well, I've learnt some pretty wild games while I was getting thoroughly shat on there!"

"G-g-games?" she stammered. Had he stopped? Did he think he was going to be caught?

"Now one more thing, Cream…" he picked up the knife again, breathing hard. The tears were drying up and his grin was coming back as he looked at the mess. His cum and massive amounts of blood stained the concrete under them, "You're just a message. If I can hurt you like this, I can hurt anybody. But since I can't let Sonic know who's responsible just yet…"

Cream's eyes widened.

"And now for my favourite part of my favourite game…" Shadow raised the knife over his head, his ruby eyes shining with madness, "_Sudden death…_"

With a scream he plunged the knife down into Cream's middle. She screamed in agony and he was spurred on by the sound, with the knife rising and falling again and again while she kept screaming. Then he slashed her throat, silencing her screams, but not quite ending her life. He just kept stabbing down, long after the blood had stopped running from her, barely aware of it plastering his body.

Eventually though, he ran out of stab, and stared down at the little corpse of the small girl, stained with life fluids of both herself and him. Nothing was sinking in. It didn't feel real.

_We're all very proud of you._

_Yes. Next time it will be easier._

Shadow curled up on the cold stone, stroking the corpse with one hand and staring at it. The bleeding was already coming to a halt with the ceasing of her heartbeat. The voices weren't going away. And he didn't feel any less angry. Nothing seemed to have changed, except that one life had abruptly been snuffed out. He'd never actually killed anybody before.

"Next time… Next time…"

It finally occurred to him that he was covered in blood.

Maybe he'd take a walk in the rain.

* * *

Several hours later the dark hedgehog was carrying a large brown sack through the pouring rain. He was wearing a hooded trenchcoat, although he was soaking wet under it too, having washed off the blood by standing out in the rain for hours.

After he had arrived at the apartment block, it was seven flights up the stairwell. And the time was almost midnight, so he hadn't met anybody. Which was fortunate, since he'd have had to kill them. He dumped the bag at the door, and pressed the doorbell. A few bars of "Follow Me" rang out. He didn't wait for the door to be answered, but dashed away at high speed.

About thirty seconds later, a tear-stained Amy opened the door.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" she called out. She looked down at the grubby sack. It was large. And it smelt terrible. Coppery. With a growing sense of frightened curiosity, she bent over and untied it, dread speeding up her movements as she fumbled with tight knots. She pulled open the sack, and witnessed what was inside.

And she started to scream.

* * *

Breech: This is probably the MOST horrible chapter. But it's not the only horrible chapter. And it was necessary. And for those of you about to tell me Shadow's acting totally OOC, you're kind of stating the obvious. Because Shadow wouldn't do this… if he was the real Shadow… right?


	4. Betrayal Of Hope

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: I know my warnings were a bit 'Don't like, don't read', but I wanted to warn you. So, StarLightRaven, you think number three WASN'T the worst? You dare doubt me? I'll just have to have Shadow be NICE from here!

Just kidding. Things ain't gonna get any nicer; I just wanted to get the rape of Cream out of the way.

* * *

Chapter Four: Betrayal of Hope

"The 11 year old victim, as yet unnamed, was discovered with 27 stab wounds, only four of which would have been potentially fatal…"

"…a blatant sexual attack…"

"…the police are yet to discover a motive or a suspect…"

"…looking for anybody who has any information."

Sonic groaned and turned off the television. It was two weeks since Cream had been brutally murdered, and it was still the primary event on the news right now. After all, her mother was wealthy high society. It was three days since Cheese's little body had been found in a dumpster, his neck snapped. He was sick of hearing about it. Vanilla Rabbit was an influential woman and her daughter was often in the spotlight, so of course it got publicity. But what kind of monster would do something like this to a little girl? He could think of no reason.

Amy had barely been able to stop crying since she had found Cream's body on her doorstep. She had barely left her house either. Sick. Sick. Sick. Like her young friend's body was some kind of gift. Seeing her face stained with so many tears like that had twisted him up inside worse than anything ever had before.

And Sonic knew that she blamed herself unceasingly for losing Cream in that mall. He'd tried to comfort her. Everybody had. Telling her that it had been in broad daylight and she'd only taken her eyes off Cream for a moment. It had done nothing to help. They'd all reminded her that she'd called Vanilla and they had of course contacted the police, but they had told them that people couldn't be reported missing for 24 hours.

Of course, by then it was already too late. Whatever monster had done this had not wasted time.

They had only just returned from the funeral, and Tails was crying right now as he sat next to Sonic. Another twist to the metaphorical knife in Sonic's heart.

"Sonic… why'd they do it? Cream never really hurt anybody… What they did to her… How could anybody…"

Sonic nodded. There had been a lot of people at the funeral. Him and Tails, obviously. Team Chaotix, Knuckles, and even Rouge. Shadow had been there at the back looking grim, then left in his own quiet way. Even Silver and Blaze, who barely knew Cream, had come out of respect for the rest of them. Vanilla hadn't been able to stop crying, and about half-way through Amy had broken down into hysterics, screaming about how it was 'all my fault'.

"I don't know why, little buddy," Sonic knew consoling people over death was tough. He'd never imagined he'd have to do it himself. Part of him had always assumed that if anybody was going to have to do any consoling, it would probably be over _his_ death.

He was great at being cheerful, and even at cheering people up. But when there was no cheer to be had… what then? The thought was like a punch to the stomach. He searched for some words.

"We… we've got to remember her as she was, Tails. A sweet, innocent little girl who-"

"-Who didn't deserve it!" Tails wept, "It's not helping, Sonic! It's not helping!"

Sonic groaned and cuddled his friend.

Then the phone rang.

Sonic picked it up, expecting it to be another sympathiser. The entire team was getting them from people he'd barely even heard of.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. Who is this?" he asked quietly.

"_Evening, Sonic…"_ a voice spoke softly.

Sonic scowled, "No, _I'm_ Sonic. Who is this?"

"_Don't you remember me? We had such a nice conversation about your friends a couple of weeks ago…"_ the ominous voice chuckled.

Oh. _Now_ he remembered that cloaked, mysterious voice, "Oh, calling up to gloat over the death of a little girl, are you? Listen you, one of my friends has just died. I don't have time for your sick mind games, freak. I don't want to hear your voice ever again. So fuck off."

"_That's odd, I'd have thought you'd be a lot more interested in me now…"_

"Why the hell would I be interested… in…" Sonic's voice was slowing and shaking slightly.

"_Those two brain cells of yours rubbing together again, Sonic?"_ the voice continued, _"Yeah, Cheese's neck snapped like a twig. Chao, they're water elements. Kind of like bubbles, really. They just go pop. But Cream… she was more persistent… I had to get rough."_

"You? You killed Cream?!" Sonic felt bile rising in his throat. Tails was looking at him, shocked, and he tried to calm himself, "No… No, you're just some insane lunatic who-"

"_I'M NOT CRAZY! DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME CRAZY!"_ the voice shrieked, _"But… dying's not so bad, Sonic. Trust me. I've been there before. In a manner of speaking. And this is what you deserve, Sonic. In fact, it's better than you deserve."_

Sonic ground his teeth, "You're a monster. A despicable, soulless monster. What about Cream? Did she deserve to die? Did her mother deserve to lose a daughter? Did Amy deserve to have her friend's dead body dumped on her doorstep?"

There was a brief pause, _"All your friends deserve this. Being your friend is a crime of stupidity."_

"I will find you, and I will make you _pay_ for this," Sonic promised the Voice, "If you've got a problem with me, find _me_, and fight _me_. Don't touch my friends."

"_Pft. You dropped me. And then you left me behind. And then you betrayed me. And then you mocked me. A slow, painful death is the last thing you're getting from me."_ Sonic could hear the Voice laughing to themselves on the other end.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Sonic screamed down the phone.

"_The fact that you don't know simply increases my desire to destroy your entire life,"_ the Voice informed him, _"But if you can't answer that question, here's an easier one. Where am I, Sonic? Go on, take a guess…"_

Sonic shuddered with rage, not wanting to play the game, "How am I supposed to know, you sick freak?!" he snarled.

"_Oh, come on Sonic, I'll even give you a clue,"_ the Voice sounded like it was smirking, _"I'm on the doorstep, I'm pressing the doorbell… Right… now…"_

A few bars from the chorus of 'Follow Me' rang out over the phone.

Sonic almost dropped the phone in horror.

"AMY!"

* * *

Shadow crunched the cell-phone up in his hand, standing in front of the door calmly. It was being opened right now.

Amy looked up at the black and red hedgehog. She was in her pink dressing gown, and she had been crying until she ran out of tears lately. She hadn't been able to sleep for it, and her face was still covered in tears. She hadn't bothered to put on makeup. It would be a waste of time. He looked grim, and the trenchcoat made him look even grimmer. But then again, he always looked grim, "Hello, Shadow… It's nice to see you again…" he pushed past her into her apartment, "Uh… won't you come in?"

"It's nice to see you again too, Amy," Shadow walked over to the phone quickly, and shifted it a little so that unbeknownst to Amy, it was off the hook, "All alone?"

"Mmm-hmm…" she sniffled, closing the door and locking it, "Why are you here, Shadow? You've never visited me before."

"No, I haven't, have I?" Shadow sounded a little distant, and scratched at his arm a little. While Amy was turned away from him, he swiftly picked up her pink cell-phone from the table, "I do wish I had done so though. Three times, at least…" he chuckled darkly.

"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"Amy," Shadow turned to her, "I felt a little bad about Cream. She was only little. But you should have known better."

"I know!" Amy began to sob, "It's all my fault…"

"No, it's not your fault Amy," Shadow held her by a wrist suddenly, "It's Sonic's fault. And he will be punished with every tear you spill."

"Sonic's fault? What do you mean, Sonic's fault?" Amy looked up sharply.

"We could play games all night, Amy," Shadow started to smirk, and when she looked into his eyes, she began to tremble. His eyes were wild and crazed. He was breathing all funny. And when she turned her head… she could see some patches of rough fur where she'd never seen it before.

"Are you… really Shadow?" she asked softly, fearing the answer.

Shadow snarled, "With that question, you have sealed your fate, Amy." With a rapid move, he punched – actually _punched_ her - her so hard that it sent her across the room and into a mirror, breaking it. He laughed nastily, "Oooh! Seven years bad luck!"

She slumped, the back of her dressing-gown cut, and started to pull out her Piko Piko Hammer, "So, you're not Shadow! Who are you, and what have you done with the real Shadow?!"

"I _AM_ THE REAL SHADOW!" he screamed, and leapt at her.

"Piko Slam-"

Shadow caught the hammer in one hand easily, "Oh, please," he sneered, ripping it out of her hand and tossing it aside. Then he punched her again, this time knocking her into a pink vase, which smashed on the floor and scattered its flowers. He picked up one and breathed in the scent, "Roses. Hmmm. Maria's favourite flowers were Daisies. We'd go to the Ark Horticultural Labs between my tests, and pretend we were on Earth… She showed me how to make daisy chains…" he smiled distantly.

"What have you done-"

Shadow tossed the Piko Piko hammer aside up with one hand suddenly, "I don't have time to argue with you, Amy," he snarled, "You'll have plenty of time to beg for answers and make hurtful accusations later."

Amy narrowed her eyes, and to Shadow's shock, swung with the Piko Piko Hammer again. It slammed into his side and knocked him halfway across the room. When he got to his feet and looked back at where he had tossed it, it had vanished, "Well, I'll be fu-"

It whacked him on the head this time, cutting the word short. But he'd taken worse hits in his fall from the ARK, and his time spent with Eggman. The next time it was swung, he dodged under it, and shoved Amy against the broken mirror again, cutting her back more deeply and making her cry out.

She lashed out, her fist punching Shadow in the stomach. He grunted, and swung her around by her long quills, slamming her into a wall face-first. When he pulled her back, her lip was bleeding. He smirked, grabbed her arm, and twisted. She screamed.

"My arm! Shadow, you broke my-"

"There are 215 bones in your body. Be thankful it wasn't your neck. But if you keep this up, next time it will be your jaw-"

There was clamouring on the stairwell; the sound of somebody taking stairs three at a time, "AMY! AMY! DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR!"

_Moron._

"Hear that? Sonic's coming, and he's going to catch you, and kick your butt from here to Mobotropolis!" Amy shouted at Shadow, grinning despite her pain.

Shadow glanced towards the sound impassively, and threw a dry smirk at Amy, "Come now, my sweet angel, since when could Sonic catch me?"

Without warning, the dark hedgehog slammed the back of her head into the wall. Her eyes widened in shock for a moment, then she sighed and slumped in his arms, unconscious. He gathered her up in his arms quickly, slinging her over his shoulder. Then with gritted teeth, he leapt out of the window, smashing the glass. Seven flights down was an easy fall for him, and then all that was left to do was vanish into the night.

* * *

"AMY!"

Only seconds later, Sonic threw himself through the locked door and into the pink apartment. The place was a mess. It looked like it had been hit by a tornado – ironically, Sonic's place normally looked like this. So this might have not bothered him so much, if he hadn't known how tidy Amy usually was.

The place had been torn apart by battle. Amy might not have been the strongest of the team, but she'd never go down without a fight. Yet down she had gone.

"AMY! Oh god, AMY!" He searched through the apartment with desperation rising in his chest.

"Sonic," he spun to face a tearful Tails, who had just gotten here, "She's not here, Sonic. We're too late."

"No!" he grabbed Tails by the shoulders and shook him, "I can't be too late! I can't be-" he stopped and looked around the room, tears rising in his emerald green eyes. There was nothing there but the two of them.

And the billowing curtains that framed the shattered window…

* * *

Breech: Well anyway, reviews, anybody? I want millions of 'em!


	5. Betrayal Of Love

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: I'm a ShadAmy fan. Of course, Shadow is totally and completely crazed out of his mind in this story, so that puts a bit of a dampener on their relationship…

* * *

Chapter Five: Betrayal Of Love

Shadow entered the cold basement and walked down the stairs, laying Amy on the filthy mattress quietly and tying her wrists behind her back with duct tape… for now. Then he locked the door to the basement, hid the key in his streaked quills, and pulled up a chair, before taking a sandwich out of the freezer and eating it, his trenchcoat wrapped around him. He watched her unconscious form quietly while he ate and listened to the voices in his head.

_I bet you could wake her up pretty fast by fucking her._

"Probably. But I don't want to rush it this time. You're right; this time it _is_ easier."

_We're always right._

They sat like that for hours, with Shadow occasionally muttering to himself.

But eventually, Shadow stood again and started pacing, talking to the voices, and rubbing at his scars as he did so, "Sonic betrayed me. He used me to the very limits of my abilities, then when he was afraid of me, he threw me away like a coward. And then… Then they all just… left me behind to suffer! And mocked me! Behind my back, and to my face! They got on with their lives and… And Sonic should be punished!" the hedgehog ranted on, "He's hurt me, and he's going to suffer like I did! He's going to know what it feels like to lose everything! And he's got more to lose than me…"

Amy was coming around slowly. She heard the last few words of Shadow's rant. As she did so, she realised that she hadn't just had some nightmare… Or maybe she was still in it. She tried to remain silent and still.

But even in his raving state, Shadow heard her shift, and whipped around to face her, a wild grin of delight on his face, "AMY!"

"Shadow…"

"Oh, so I _am_ the real Shadow now, am I?"

Amy took a deep breath, not wanting to anger him. Maybe he was one of Eggman's Shadow-clones – after all, they'd never actually been woken up. Probably. Maybe. Perhaps. Or maybe he was an android. Maybe he was the real Shadow? She hoped not, because either way he was clearly completely insane right now, "Does it matter so much?"

"Matters to me," he crossed his arms, "Listen angel-cakes, we could sit here all night and all day and all night again, arguing over 'real Shadows' and what-not, but I already know what you think. And I know what I'm going to do anyway. And as it is said, I don't watch a fuck movie for the classy dialogue. I watch a fuck movie for the fucking. Although when I care more about the characters, I care more about the fucking..." he leered.

Amy tested her hands. Her wrists were bound with duct tape, and in such a manner that ensured the more she struggled with them, the tighter they got. And she couldn't struggle properly anyway. Not with her broken arm, "Shadow, please… what is this about?"

Shadow stood and walked over to her, kneeling down beside her, "Sonic. Dropped. Me. He let me fall…"

"That's not true! He tried to save you and-"

Shadow slapped her face with a snarl, "NO! HE DROPPED ME!" She gasped, and he leant forward, breathing more slowly, "And he will suffer…" He straddled Amy, and she cried out as his weight put pressure on her arm. Tears of pain started to well up in her eyes.

"Shadow, what are you doing…"

He leant forward, "What the hell do you see in that stupid blue fake anyway?" he growled, "He's arrogant, selfish, rude and as steady as the breeze – I can give you all of that!"

"No! He's a good person! What are you-"

Unexpectedly, Shadow kissed her ear gently, "I've watched you for so long, Amy. Since the very first time you held me, I've wanted to hold you back. You're so beautiful… If only… if only…"

The idea of Shadow watching her turned Amy's stomach. He'd never said a thing about it, "Shadow, you… you're scaring me…"

"Sonic will suffer," Shadow's expression became grim, "I will take everything away from him. All of his friends. I will destroy his life as he destroyed mine. And maybe I'll kill you. Or maybe I won't. But whatever I do, I will enjoy it…" he gazed into her tearful emerald eyes, "It was hard with Cream. With you, it will be easier."

Amy's eyes widened, "YOU! You did that to Cream?! You… monster! You raped her and murdered her and just left her body for me to find!"

"SHUT UP!" Shadow suddenly grabbed her by her pink dressing gown and pulled her up, standing as he did so, "She was the first," he hissed, "It made you cry, didn't it? And I saw Sonic. You crying made him cry!" He slapped Amy so hard that she bounced off the wall.

Her vision almost blurred as she looked around at the basement. It was filthy. But in the middle of the room there was another stain. Reddish brown, Shadow had murdered Cream in cold blood. Was he going to kill her too? Would he rape her? Torture her? The tears started to run down her face, "I don't… I don't understand…"

Shadow's attitude swung again, and with his thumb he wiped away her tears, holding her in one hand, "Of course you don't. You see, Sonic is a user. He uses people. He used me. He uses you to make himself feel good. But there's still a tiny part of him that cares."

Amy stared up at him, "No, it's not tiny. He's a caring person; that's who he is. He cared when you fell! He would never just _let_ you fall… Shadow, stop it…"

"That's the problem," Shadow growled, "You confuse him caring, for him loving. But he will never love you. Not like I will…" He leant forward and kissed her ear again, his breathing hot and fast. He held her in place then, as his hands started to move over her, pushing into her dressing gown and stroking her pyjamas, and she couldn't stop him.

"He… I know he'll come to realise soon… really soon…" Amy tried to move her body away from Shadow's molesting hands, and whimpered as they searched through her, "You… you've become a monster, Shadow! How did this happen?"

"I am not the monster! He is! He dropped me! Then he left me to suffer!" Shadow grabbed Amy and shook her hard, "He's scum!"

"No, he's not! You're the scum! You'll never be better if you keep acting like this!" Amy wailed, "Stop, Shadow! Please, stop and let me go!"

"NO!" Shadow knocked her back down to the mattress, and it jolted her arm. She screamed. Then he climbed on top of her again, and slapped her, splitting her lip and bringing blood to trickle down her face, "YOU BELONG TO ME, AMY! YOU ARE MINE!" he leant forward, his eyes shining with insanity, "And I bet Sonic's never told you how beautiful you are…" He paused, then ran his tongue over her lip, tasting the blood.

"St-stop…" she shivered at his weight.

"No. _I_ will have you, Amy," Shadow cupped her face in his hands, "You are _mine_ now." Again he pushed his hands into her dressing gown, and this time started rummaging, unbuttoning her pyjamas. He was grinning wildly.

He certainly wasn't listening to her, but only growing more frantic as he started squeezing her sides. And the way he moved was jostling her arm more. She screamed at him in anguish and pain, "NO! STOP!" she cried out as he searched her body, "That's not love! That's just… predatory! You're acting like an animal! You're treating me like… like meat!"

Shadow paused for a moment, huffing a little. Then he seized her and pulled her onto her knees, facing him. At least she wasn't lying on her arm any more, "This is two punishments in one, Amy," he all but purred, "This is Sonic's punishment for betraying me. And it's your punishment for being so foolish as to be his friend."

And then he started to assault her sexually, breathing hard in his obvious excitement. He groped her body all over, so fiercely that within seconds she was crying out. Then he began to take her mouth, shoving his tongue deep in, while she hung there in his arms, helpless.

"Amy, Amy, Amy…" the ebony hedgehog chastised her, "Don't be like that. You might even start to like this…"

Amy's jaw dropped. Was he kidding? He had to be. None of what he said made the slightest sense. He wasn't punishing her for struggling but every time she tried to, her arm released agony and his squeezing became rougher, "NO! PLEASE NO!"

Shadow started to groan in pleasure. For Sonic to pass over on this, the blue hedgehog was the world's biggest idiot. He continued to knead at her flesh, but at the same time alternated between ravaging kisses, and light, smooth touches, shifting her to kiss and lick at her twitching ears, and her tear-stained cheeks, and her neck, "Oh yes… oh yes…" By now, nothing could have stopped the primal instincts driving him.

Then, to her shock, he let go of her and stood up, leaving her kneeling on the mattress, frightened and confused. He walked over to the table and opened a drawer. He felt her eyes on him, as he picked up a sharp knife and turned to face her, waving it with a sadistic grin.

"OH GOD! OH NO, SHADOW! NO!" Amy screamed, squirming away and pressing her back to the wall. She cried out with a sob. He was going to murder her just like he'd slaughtered poor little Cream…

Shadow walked back to her, waving it casually in front of his wide, crazed eyes and staring at it. Then he knelt in front of her, trailing the tip down her cheek, "Beautiful…" he hissed, staring at it. Then he raised the blade. Amy screamed. And then the blade was being used to slash open her dressing gown and pyjamas, cutting the fabric rapidly.

She didn't dare move. The slightest twitch might leave her body being slashed as badly as her clothes. Shadow was breathing faster, and suddenly he tossed the knife aside and started ripping off the fabric with his bare hands, "Say my name," he moaned as he began to bare her body, "Say it! Say my name!"

"Shadow… Shadow, stop it…"

"No! Say it like you mean it!" he snarled. He couldn't pull her clothes off properly. There were shreds all over the place. So he pushed his fingers into her undies and dragged them off, the elastic twanging before it snapped, "Scream it to the heavens!"

"Shadow! I want you to burn in hell!" Amy screamed desperately.

"Better…" Shadow pulled her to kneel straight again, gazing at her lustfully. Then to her horror, he reached between his legs and wrapped his hand around his thick cock, bringing his erection to rise up there.

"You… you're going to rape me…" she sobbed, "You… Shadow, I never…"

"I can think of no possible reason not to," Shadow smirked. He grabbed her chin with one hand, keeping her eyes looking into his, while at the same time rubbing at himself and groaning. Inbetween, he continued to kiss her roughly, "Are you a virgin? I expect you've been saving yourself up for Sonic…"

"Mmm-hmm…" Amy sniffled, turning her face away from him.

"Well, don't you worry about that," he turned her around roughly so that she was kneeling with her back to him, and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Well… not just yet, anyway…"

"Shadow, please… I don't know what I've ever done to hurt you, but I'm sorry…" she wept.

"If you don't know what you've done, then how can you be sorry for it? Now don't waste all your tears just now… because I'm going in dry." Shadow kissed her cheek mockingly. He wrapped both arms around her chest and started to grope savagely at her bare breasts again with one hand, the other clutching the knife tightly. Then he lifted her about a foot off the mattress, and she could feel something hard pressing at her back.

Then he pressed her down onto it. He relished the scream as his thick shaft entered her tight anus slowly, grimacing as he pushed her down. Amy was screaming. Both having her beautiful body in his arms and the thought of Sonic going absolutely insane with worry right now made him even harder. He shoved her down until he was as far in as he could be.

There was no room to thrust. So he simply started lifted her up and down there, grunting in pleasure. It was tight in there, terribly so. And wonderfully so. He couldn't help himself. He was laughing now as he enjoyed himself intensely. Gasping for breath and violating the most beautiful female he had ever seen at the same time.

_This is wonderful… Sonic would throw a shit-fit if he knew this was happening._

"I know… it's wonderful…" Shadow agreed, and shifting Amy's writhing, agonised body, began to lick at her neck.

_When you kill her, he might even kill himself._

That thought made him stop pulling Amy up and down, if only for a moment, "No. I don't want him to die like that. When it's time…"

Amy was gasping for breath, sobs shaking her body as Shadow paused and started talking to himself, even with his shaft deep in her butt-hole. What was he on about?

"Well, don't worry. I think I can work this out for everybody…" Shadow kissed Amy's cheek again gleefully. He started driving her up and down on him again as she wailed, "My name, princess!" he shouted at her eagerly, "Scream my name again!"

"Shadow! Shadow!" Amy sobbed as she was stretched and violated. And the movements kept on jolting her fractured arm until the pain made her think she was going to pass out. She kept shouting his name with every time she was pulled down on him, "Stop! Please stop it!"

He didn't, of course. He was getting closer and closer in that tight crack to coming and he wasn't planning on quitting now. With one more shout though, he blew his load inside of her, panting in his lust. She hung limply in his arms, shaking.

"That… wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked her, chuckling. She didn't answer him, and he shook her gently, "_Answer me_," he growled.

"Mm-hmmm…" Amy murmured non-committedly, shaking with pain and exhaustion. Shadow accepted the answer, and she felt him begin to kiss at her again. Licking and kissing at her bare skin greedily, sucking at it, and fingering her body again.

"But still Amy, don't feel so bad," he chuckled darkly, "For even though you fear you've had a painful, exhausting, depressing day, never forget… there's another one coming tomorrow!"

"You… you're a monster," Amy felt the tears run down her face, "I hate you! And I want you to die!"

"Too late for wishing that, sweetie," Shadow raised her off his shaft and lowered her down to the mattress onto her side. Then he started to wipe his mess off on her fur. It wasn't just semen. He had driven into her so dry and hard that she had bled. Red and white on pink. Beautiful.

Stunningly attractive as she was, the knowledge that Sonic was probably going out of his mind with worry was more than compensation for her current hatred of him.

"Aw, don't cry so bad, Amy," he smirked, "Saving yourself up for Sonic? You're still a virgin, aren't you? At least… for the time being…" She snuffled back tears helplessly, and he lay down next to her, gathering her up in his arms, his touch a mockery of gentleness, "Now come on… let's cuddle…"

Amy was shaking as she lay there, stiff and pained and afraid as the crazed hedgehog pulled her close to him, her face now pressed to his chest. There was purple beginning to rise on her body, and her clothes were scattered in pieces all over the cold concrete floor. With him holding her there, she could think of no escape.

She shivered with fear and the chill, as he once again started to kiss and fondle her body with one hand. The other presumably still clutched the knife.

* * *

Breech: If you think Amy is the last person Shadow's gonna be a-rapin', you're wrong.


	6. Betrayal Of Technology

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: I'm kind of a ShadAmy fan, but this isn't really a ShadAmy story. There's so many more people to mess with than her! Still, another chapter of Amy getting solidly fucked over by a crazed Shadow won't hurt anybody, eh?

* * *

Chapter Six: Betrayal of Technology

Sonic was going quite mad with fear. Exactly as Shadow had predicted, in fact. With Amy's apartment already trashed like that, the cops had actually bothered to start looking for her now. He hadn't stopped all these past two days. He'd called all of his friends, and told them to call all of their friends. Everybody was searching.

But as of yet, not one trace of her had been found.

"This psycho… he's going to pay!" he shouted at Team Chaotix, who were also searching.

"Sonic," Espio spoke calmly, "Your panic will not find Amy. Nor will it locate her kidnapper. Everybody's searching; you know that."

"Yeah, Sonic," Vector agreed, "For what it's worth, if she was dead, she'd probably have turned up as a corpse by now."

"And how is that supposed to make me feel any better?!" Sonic yelled at them, "Am I just supposed to sit here and wait for her to die and then this asshole can call up and gloat some more?!"

Vector, Espio and Charmee looked at each other, "Everybody's doing everything they can, Sonic," Espio pointed out.

"And yet she's still in the hands of that… that sick predator!" Sonic yelled. He felt ready to cry, "He's doing this on purpose! Hurting my friends to get at me! And… and…"

Then his cell-phone rang out. He looked at the dialling number.

"It's… Amy's number…"

* * *

Shadow looked down at Amy, "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!" he told her gleefully, "I mean, I picked up your phone to stop Sonic from calling you too soon but now… Ah, thanks to the miracles of technology, we're going to mess with his head so wonderfully!"

_This is wonderful. Aren't we so lucky! Just keep going like this and Sonic will… well, he'll suffer, and that's what's important, right?_

"You're sick…" Amy sobbed, her body stained with Shadow's mess. He hadn't fucked her all day, but then again he had been out, with her bound in his basement. When he had returned, he had refused to answer her questions, except with a slap to the face.

Shadow held a bottle of water to her lips, "Drink, there's a good girl." She hesitated and he pulled on her quills sharply, "Or must I make you drink something else?"

Amy drank some of the water, "How can you do this?" she wept, her body stained with streaks of Shadow masturbating over her. The basement was cold, and so was she.

"Simple. I hate Sonic the Hedgehog. He deserves to suffer," Shadow stood and picked up the phone again, "As does anybody stupid enough to be his friend. After all, he doesn't really have friends, just people he has a use for. Hmmm. You can take pictures. Shame it's not a video-phone, but… you can't have everything, can you?"

"You don't really expect me to not cry out, do you?" Amy asked.

"Of course not, princess. That's why I'm relying on _another_ miracle of technology," he picked something else up from the table, "Duct. Tape."

With a sharp slap, he knocked her onto her back. She screamed as her fractured arm was jostled, and he climbed on top, covering her mouth with a piece of it and wrapping it around the back of her head too. She screamed at him, the sound muffled.

* * *

Sonic answered the call with shaking hands.

"_Hello, Sonic…"_

"BASTARD!" he screamed down the phone, "WHERE IS AMY! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU'VE HURT ONE HAIR ON HER HEAD-"

Behind him, Team Chaotix were waving their hands, silently begging him to stay calm. It was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his life.

"_She's right here, Sonic… here, say hello to your buddy-boy, Amy…" _

Sonic heard a muffled squealing sound.

"_And if you didn't want me to hurt her, you should have been there before I got to her. Say, comforting her for the loss of a friend? Or giving her a good, hard, comfort-fuck? Or both?"_ Sonic listened in growing rage as the Voice started to laugh mockingly.

"You can kill me if you want, bastard," he hissed, "But leave my friends out of whatever petty grievances you have with me."

There was a brief pause, "_Your proposal has not been found acceptable. But I've got another proposal for you, Sonic,"_ the Voice chuckled, _"You can see Amy right now, or you can see her dead. Now make your choice."_

Sonic hissed in rage, "Now…"

"_Good answer. I'd hate to kill something so pretty before I was ready… Say cheese, Amy…"_

Suddenly Sonic had a message. Incoming photograph. With shaking hands he accepted it.

Amy was lying on her back, her clothes torn off and duct tape covering her mouth as she stared wide-eyed up at the camera. Her body and face was covered in the purple of bruises. And stains of white. And there was a knife being held to her throat by a gloved hand.

Vector and Espio stared wide-eyed in horror at the dreadful image, and both covered Charmee's eyes, _"_You… are going to_ die_ for this_… whoever_ you are, I_ will _find you_,"_ Sonic raged softly under his breath, _"_And you will_ die."_

"_Now that's not a lot of incentive for sparing her life, is it?"_ the Voice mocked him, _"But it doesn't matter. One would have thought that if you knew who I was, you'd have found me and stopped me days ago. Currently my only regret right now is my wide range of options…"_

"You miserable piece of…" Sonic could think of a lot of things he wanted to say. But he couldn't narrow them down.

* * *

Shadow looked down at Amy, "Heh. See? He cares. But he can't _love_ you. Whatever he says. It's impossible for him to love anybody. Except himself."

"Mmmmph!" Amy squealed. She could hear Sonic snarling obscenities on the phone.

"Now, just one more photograph, princess…" Shadow lowered one hand to his crotch and started rubbing. He groaned as he did so, before leaning forward to kiss Amy on the forehead, "I'd tell you to smile for the camera but…"

He was soon hard from gazing at her flushed face and wide, frightened eyes. She was having trouble breathing from how scared she was. Oh god but she was so beautiful. With a quick movement he ripped the duct tape off her mouth. Then, before she could move to scream, he pushed his shaft in there. The knife hovered at Amy's throat, "If I feel teeth, you feel steel," he purred in a warning voice.

He took a final photograph of her with that shaft there, and sent it. Then he started thrusting.

* * *

"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL HIM!" Sonic screamed to the sky, "I'M GONNA RIP OUT HIS HEART AND SHOW IT TO HIM!" In the background of the call he could hear muffled sounds, and crying, and groans mixed with laughing. He managed to stand it for a few more seconds. Then he threw up on the floor.

The signal was lost.

* * *

Shadow crunched Amy's pink phone in one hand. Then he tossed it aside with a chuckle, even as he shuddered in arousal. Then he returned his attention to her, and moaned.

"Oh, Amy!" he gripped her shoulders tightly and kept bringing her head up to meet his sack. So tightly, that his nails dug into her shoulders, actually drawing blood, "Oh… it's like you're an Angel! And… oh… like I'm a Demon… and…" He kept thrusting his shaft past her soft lips, deep-throating her.

Amy just sobbed, tears running down her flushed cheeks. She would very much have liked to bite down, even with the knife at her throat, but… with Shadow thrusting into her like this, it was so much harder than she'd expected. He was thick and hard and moving fast and deep. And his moans grew louder and louder.

And then to her horror, he came with a cry of pleasure. He came right in her mouth, deep in. Amy had never known what cum tasted like; Sonic had once joked that it tasted like Cola, and Knuckles had pointed out it should only taste like Cola if Sonic blew off guys who drank about six litres of Spritz a day.

It tasted sickly sweet; the worst part though was the texture. It oozed wetly over her tongue, and made her gag and choke, but he kept himself deep in her, and he wouldn't pull back until he'd blown his entire load into her, "Now… swallow, my angel," he hissed, holding her to him. Whimpering, she choked it down her throat even as he groaned, releasing a little more of it in spurts.

And finally, mercifully, he leant back with a deep sigh of contentment, pulling his shaft out of Amy. Abruptly he leant forward and closed Amy's mouth, keeping her from spitting anything out until she had swallowed every bit of it, "Oh no, angel-cakes. Keep it. Keep it with you…" Only when he was certain did he sit back once more and let her speak again as he wiped his shaft off on the remains of her clothing.

"Shadow… how could you…" Amy turned her face away, unable to meet his burning, deeply pleasured gaze. With Shadow's cum now inside of her, she had never felt so degraded. She would never be able to make love to Sonic without being aware that Shadow had forced his way inside of her first. His seed stained her body. He had forced himself into her both anally and orally, but he hadn't done so into her vagina. Was that next?

"I wanted to. I wanted you so badly; you can't imagine," Shadow trailed his fingers through her pink quills, and lay down on her. With a soft moan, he began to kiss her neck and shoulders where his nails had dug in, licking at the scratches gently, "Seeing you drooling over the Blue Blockhead like that… it was so _infuriating_…"

Amy whimpered as he kissed at her, acting as if he actually cared. It was so dreadful that he had swung so sharply from sadistically raping her, to suddenly acting like this. It only confirmed how crazy he had gone. Was he really Shadow? And if he was… oh god… "Are… are you going to kill me?" she sobbed softly, "Or… or are you going to keep me here… as your pet?"

"Neither, sweet angel," Shadow stood up with a groan, "I'm going to send you back…" But something in his eyes told Amy it wasn't going to be pretty.

She cried out as he pulled her to her feet by her quills. Then he pulled a chain from the ceiling and, with another savage grin, tied her arms to it, hoisting her up. Then she screamed in pain as her fractured arm was jostled again. Shadow laughed at her, of course. Then he walked over to a corner, and picked up what looked like the wooden pole of a broom or something similar.

"Wh-what are you going to do now?" Amy whispered.

Shadow smirked evilly, patting the pole into his hand meaningfully. Then he drew it back, and slammed it hard against the back of her shoulders. Then again. And again.

He continued for what felt like hours, moving around Amy's body, striking hard and savagely. But never at the head. Aiming to keep her conscious for as long as possible. Eventually she ached so badly that she could no longer feel the individual strikes. Eventually though, it seemed that he had taken a break from beating her. She chanced looking up at him, and saw him leaning on the pole casually, smirking and sweating a little.

"Now you understand a little of my pain," he all but purred, "The suffering I've been through, while you mocked me, and used me, and abandoned me. Now you know what it's like to hurt until you can't feel the pain."

Amy didn't bother to ask how these things could all be done at once, "N-now what?" she sobbed, shaking, "Are you going to… going to tell me that I must never say who…"

"Oh, Amy. My sweet… deluded… little… angel…" Shadow licked his lips slowly, and kissed her almost tenderly. She didn't fight, but neither did she fight back, "You can tell people whatever you please…" his grip tightened on the pole, "Just as soon as you wake up."

Amy looked up sharply, and then the wooden pole thudded into the back of her head, so hard that it snapped, and sending her into blissful blackness. So she didn't feel the second and then third times it struck her.

_Now why didn't you finish the job while she was awake?_

_Go on, do it. Finish it._

Shadow looked with calm satisfaction at the broken pole in his hands. Then he threw it aside, "Yeah, but… she's unconscious. And I've just fucked her twice anyway."

_Third time's the charmer. And imagine when she DOES wake up and finds out! Come on. You know you want to._

Shadow looked at Amy, beaten and stained. He scratched at his arms awkwardly, thinking about it. Then he laughed to himself, "You're right, I suppose. It'll give her quite a shock when she comes around!"

_We always are right._

Shadow got down on his knees, rubbed at himself, and spread Amy's legs wide. Then he drove right in, savouring the involuntary muscle contractions he was causing.

* * *

Almost two hours later, Shadow straightened up, wiping himself off on the remains of Amy's clothes. There was blood between her thighs. And on his cock. She really had been a virgin. She'd not woken up once during the fuck either, being too deep in her unconsciousness.

He pulled part of a roll of carpet from a corner. He untied Amy from the rope, but kept her tied up, and rolled her up in the carpet, "You're so much more attractive when you're not talking," he told her, even though she couldn't hear him. He wondered when she'd wake up, aware that it could be a while, "Now… who's next?"

* * *

Breech: So far things have been fairly similar to the original, but kiddies, you can forget about the confusions of fiddling around with clones; I have just figured out how to screw with this story like a Jersey Hooker. Oh boy, you'll LOVE it.


	7. Betrayal Of Care

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: From the description, Amy is currently in a Level 7 coma. That's a moderate level in the Glasgow Coma Scale.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Betrayal of Care

It was possibly the worst day of Sonic's life, ever. He remembered that morning he and Silver had woken up after a hilarious drinking binge knocked out every male in the gang. They had been totally naked and their main memory of the previous night was a game of Truth-Or-Dare-Poker.

This day had beaten even that.

Because Blaze had found Amy on the doorstep of her small Mobian mansion, wrapped up in a roll of carpet, repeatedly raped, and brutally beaten, and deeply unconscious.

It was three days since Amy had been found, and she hadn't woken up since then. Occasionally she was whimpering, although Sonic couldn't make out any words. And when the doctors tested, she was pulling away from painful stimuli, even if she wasn't reacting to his touch right now… but she _wouldn't open her eyes_.

He took her hand, even though he wasn't sure she could feel it.

"Sonic?" the blue hedgehog turned to look at Knuckles. The hot-tempered echidna hardly ever left his post on the Floating Island. But he was here now, at least for a little while. He looked at Amy, and growled, "Oh god… seeing her like this is worse…"

They both looked at Amy. Purple bruising covered every part of her body, and yet under it, she was so pale. She had a broken arm in a cast, and three broken ribs from the beating this monster had given her.

"Knuckles," Sonic stated, "Blaze… she said that when she'd found Amy… Well, she'd been… Whoever did this, they… they…" he didn't look at Knuckles, swallowing, "They raped her, Knuckles. They raped Amy." Behind him, he heard Knuckles snarl suddenly, and punch the wall, leaving a heavy dent.

"Sonic," Knuckles was shaking in fury. He wasn't Amy's closest friend, but nobody, _nobody_ deserved this kind of treatment, "I promise you Sonic, I'm gonna track down this mother-fucker and-"

"No, Knuckles," Sonic looked up, "_I'm_ going to find whoever did this. They're calling me up, they're threatening my friends, _because_ they're my friends. They raped Amy!" he felt his eyes filling with angry tears, "I know what's going on now. They're getting to me through my friends…"

"You're not trying to protect me from them, are you?" Knuckles asked, "This bastard's so far only had the guts to attack women and children. He's not going to take me down!"

"I'm going to find this psycho," Sonic returned, "I bet Amy knows who he is. But I'm not sitting around here, just waiting for her to wake up!" indeed, he could barely stand to look at her in this condition. She looked as if somebody had been at her with a sack-full of doorknobs, "I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to track him down. A slow and painful death is way too good for him. But since it's the most I can deal out, it'll have to do."

Knuckles scowled. But he certainly couldn't leave his post, "If that creep sets one foot on the Floating Island, I'll rip his damn head off," he returned, "You can't stop me."

"I heard the news from Rouge," a low voice spoke from the door. Sonic and Knuckles turned to see Shadow standing there, leaning on the doorframe, "First Cream, now Amy? Looks like it doesn't pay to be one of your friends, Sonic."

Sonic snarled, and punched Shadow straight in the face, "You cold-hearted bastard, Shadow!"

"Hey! This isn't Shadow's fault, Sonic!" Knuckles yelled at him, "You know damn well he cares about Amy too!"

"No," Shadow spat some of his dark blood onto the floor, "I suppose I deserved that one…" he looked at Amy, and his stance shifted a little, "Amy…" He stepped up to the bed and touched her bruised cheek. The pink hedgehog flinched away very slightly, and he gritted his teeth, and when Sonic looked, his eyes were tight shut. Was he… trying not to cry?

Sonic resisted the temptation to wring his fist, thanks to how much the punch had hurt him too, "Uh, Shadow… are you-"

Shadow whipped to face Sonic, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, SONIC!" he screamed suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at the blue hedgehog, "THE ONLY REASON SHE WAS HURT WAS BECAUSE SHE'S YOUR FRIEND! WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TELL HER THE TRUTH; WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL HER SHE MEANS JACK SHIT TO YOU?! ARE PEOPLE'S LIVES JUST _GAMES_ TO YOU?!"

Sonic felt his jaw drop at Shadow's unexpected outburst, "Shadow, are you trying to say that-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY, SCUM-SUCKING WHOREMONGER!" Shadow screamed at him, "I'M GOING TO FIND WHOEVER DID THIS AND I'M GOING TO STRING HIM UP BY HIS OWN INTESTINES, OR I'M GOING TO DIE TRYING! AND THEN I'M GOING TO… going to…"

A choking sob retched up in the dark hedgehog's chest, and he shoved Sonic out of the way so violently that he fell back on his ass as Shadow rushed out of the hospital room.

"Damn," Sonic stood up, watching Shadow leave, "Did you ever reckon Shadow had _emotions_, Knux?" he shook his head. Now wasn't the time for joking. He sat next to Amy again, and took her hand, squeezing it, willing her to squeeze back. But she just mumbled something incomprehensible again. Every time she did that it raised his hopes that she would wake, and look him in the eyes, and maybe even smile.

She had the most beautiful smile…

"Oh god Amy, if you'll just wake up, I swear to god I'll go out with you on a date… two dates… three…" he moaned. He had never realised how much he cared about her. Not love, but… close enough that he could hardly blame her for being confused too.

Maybe he should have dated her, even once for a try. Or made it clear that he wasn't interested. Certainly he shouldn't have kept hovering in the middle the way he had done.

Plus it sounded like Shadow liked Amy. A lot. That brought a whole new set of problems to the table, because Shadow didn't like competition half as much as Sonic did.

But this wasn't about Shadow. It was about some psychopath hunting down his friends and then hurting them for the sole reason of making Sonic feel bad. He had his share of enemies, but most of them had been defeated in a very permanent kind of way. And this really wasn't Eggman's style, and if it was he didn't want to think about it. He groaned, sinking his head into his hands.

"The doctors say that… that she's sleeping it off… but she won't stop sleeping," he rubbed his face, "Oh god, I don't know what to do… I hate not knowing what to do…"

Knuckles wasn't sure about what to do either. He coughed slightly, "Sonic? I have to get back to the Floating Island now," he growled, "I came by to check on Amy. I hope she wakes up soon, Sonic…" The echidna left the room, muttering to himself angrily.

Sonic hardly noticed him go. He hated seeing Amy like this… so pale, and the bruises all over her. He looked at her wrists, with violet bracelets around them, "Wake up, Amy," he begged her softly, "Please just wake up, and then I can say I'm sorry…"

* * *

Sonic wasn't the only one who was unhappy. Blaze was still in shock. Even as a warrior-queen, she had never seen anything quite like when she had found Amy.

Ironically, she hadn't actually been in when Amy had been dumped. She'd come home after completing a complicated diplomatic deal to find the roll of carpet on her doorstep. It had stunk horribly and, despite the rising feeling of dread, she'd unrolled it.

Only to find the unconscious Amy, clad in the remains of the clothing she had been kidnapped in, and her skin turning blue with cold. Blaze had fought to stop from fainting from shock. She had simply been paralyzed with horror for almost a minute.

By now, she had worked out that there was nothing she could have done to help Amy any more than she had done by calling an ambulance and the police almost immediately. But she still remembered the smell, and the look on Amy's face.

"Oh god Silver, who could do something like that?" she asked her best friend, furious, "Amy never really hurt anybody; she's the nicest person I know…"

Silver swallowed. He'd visited Amy in the hospital too. And he'd never been angrier in his life. But at the same time, he'd never been more scared; to know that there was somebody like that out there? And that they knew where Blaze lived? He was too shy to ask her out but… "I couldn't bear it if something like that happened to you, Blaze. I can't imagine how Sonic must be feeling…"

Blaze paced the living room in front of the fireplace, "She'd been raped, Silver. Three times. Whoever this monster is, I wouldn't be surprised if he plans to hurt more people," she gritted her teeth, "He has to be found, and brought to justice."

Silver swallowed. Okay, now he had to say it, "Blaze, this creepazoid knows where you live. Maybe you should head back to your home dimension for a while. Aren't you scared?"

Blaze looked at him. Then she ignited the fireplace with a snap of her fingers, "Amy's my friend. I…" she looked upset again, "I can't leave this dimension until I know she's okay. But she's lying there in that hospital, practically in a coma, thanks to somebody who hurt her for no reason! I have money, and I have power, and right now I'm putting it towards finding this bastard and _putting him down_."

* * *

Breech: Hmmm. So, Shadow came to see Amy? Which one?! PARANOIA ALERT PARANOIA ALERT! And unlike the last one, looks like Blaze might get busted up too… Well, it's her fault for being in the franchise, eh?

Sorry about the shortish chapter…


	8. Betrayal Of Souls

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: So yeah, Shadow's… oh dear… What the hell is Shadow anyway? Well, it doesn't get any clearer this chapter, eh? But don't worry, I know almost exactly what I'm doing!

* * *

Chapter Eight: Betrayal of Souls

It was over a week since Amy had been found. The police had by now confirmed that whoever had raped and killed Cream was the same person who had raped Amy. And she still hadn't woken up. The doctors had confirmed that physically she was pretty much ready to wake up. There was no obvious brain damage and her broken bones were healing. True, she had improved a little. Sometimes when she muttered, it was almost words, and not whimpers and groans.

But she was still asleep. Her head was somewhere else. She wasn't talking to _them_.

The doctors had by now stated that medically there was nothing more they could do for her except keep her well, and that she was now remaining comatose almost of her own volition. She'd wake up when she was ready to do so. Until then, she'd been moved to a special ward.

Sonic hated this ward. It was full of people like Amy; people who looked asleep but were far deeper than that. But he had to come here if he wanted to see her, and now he came every day, just to hold her hand for a few hours and talk to her. It was the waiting that really tore him apart.

"Everybody's rooting for you, Amy," he told her, squeezing her hand, "Everybody wants you to wake up. And when you do, you don't need to be afraid because we're gonna look after you…"

Amy sighed softly, and her hand twitched. The first time this had happened with him there, it had filled Sonic with hope; he could have sworn she was going to wake up right then. But now he knew that while she was aware of the presence of _somebody_, it didn't mean she was awake. The moment he stopped talking or moving, she would return to her state of stillness.

"And all you have to do is wake up…"

* * *

Amy opened her eyes and looked around herself. Eventually she looked down. She was on dry, cold, black sand, and when she let it run through her fingers, she instantly knew it would be just as dry and just as cold no matter how deeply she dug. The stars in the distance bore no resemblance to any she'd ever seen, and as for the mountains in the distance, she couldn't tell how far away they were, no matter how she stared.

She looked at the shadowy figure who sat in the sand, hugging his knees and curled in on himself. He hadn't budged an inch since she'd gotten here, nor had he looked at her.

"Am I dying?" she asked the figure.

"The answer to that," he whispered, "Is somewhere between Yes and No."

"Well," Amy swallowed, "What should I do next?"

"I think we're supposed to cross the desert…" he told her.

"What happens after that?" Amy asked.

"I…" he huddled up, "I don't know… I've been sitting here for… for… I don't know how long; feels like forever…"

Amy looked down at him, "Show me your face," she commanded him. There was a long pause. Then he looked up. She backed away sharply, "Shadow! No, this is a dream! If I'm dying, how can you be here? What are you doing? Get away from me!"

"I think I'm lost…" he whimpered, and covered his face with his hands, "I… I'm scared, Amy… I didn't know I'd come here… I took a few steps and then… What happened? I don't know… I d-don't know what to…" To Amy's shock, the dark hedgehog started crying.

She hovered there, looking at the desert. Then back down at the hedgehog who had raped her. She was furious, and afraid. But this was a dream, right? He couldn't hurt her here. And was that the real Shadow who had attacked her? This might be a different one. Eventually though, she sat down next to him, "Well, how about… How about I wait here with you, and then when we're ready… we'll cross it together?"

She got herself ready for a long wait.

* * *

Sonic jerked out of a light doze as he realised suddenly that his phone was ringing. He snapped it open with a groan.

"Who is it?"

"_Who else would it be?"_ the Voice hissed.

"You!" Sonic snarled, "I'm going to _kill_ you! Where are you?"

"_By the time I told you, I wouldn't be there anymore. You think the game is over, betrayer? Oh no, I haven't even started breaking the rules yet."_ The Voice chuckled, _"Oh yes, breaking the rules. I thought there was a rule about betraying your friends, but you showed me otherwise…"_

Sonic was so angry that he hardly knew what to say, "Face me head on, asshole. You kill me, or I kill you, but if you so much as touch one of my friends again-"

"Which friends? Oh, you mean maybe this one?" There was a personalised doorbell ringing. 'Believe In Myself' played.

Sonic dropped Amy's hand and ran out of the hospital, "Don't you touch him!"

'Signal Lost' appeared on the phone.

* * *

Shadow looked at Tails' lab door as he dropped the crushed phone. Then he looked at the Chaos Emerald in his hand that he had procured just yesterday.

_Nothing quite like messing with people's heads to inject a little terror._

_He's such an idiot._

"Yes. We'll come back later…" Shadow tossed the Emerald up and down before he stated two words, "Chaos Control." There was a flash of light, and he vanished in a twist of the universe, just a moment before the door opened.

When he reappeared, he was in a much higher-class district. He tugged his trenchcoat around himself. It hadn't been washed since he'd started using it, except for when he'd been out in the rain, and it was covered in filth. And had he bothered to look, his quills were not clean, but matted and greasy. And he smelt pretty awful too.

"Oh Sonic, the only thing more vacuous than the weak gap where your soul should be, is the gaping chasm between your ears…" he chuckled, and crossed the road. He knew he'd need a Chaos Emerald for dealing with Blaze. She was a Warrior Queen after all. And she'd just had a corpse turn up on her doorstep. He knocked on the door sharply.

It was a maid who opened the door, but Shadow had been prepared for that. With a single smooth movement, he didn't wait for her to speak, but slashed her throat quickly with a knife before she could utter a word. Then he closed the door, and headed for the living room.

The whole mansion was well decorated. Not a palace, but certainly expensively and lavishly. After all, whenever Blaze came to Mobius, she was basically visiting royalty. Shadow settled into a large chair that was better suited for somebody who could curl their spine into a perfect circle, than a hedgehog, picked up a delicate china cup of tea, and waited as he sipped from the cup.

"Lucille! Who is it?" Blaze walked into the living room, and spotted Shadow in her chair.

"Just the Ultimate Lifeform," he took a sip from the cup.

"It's more polite to wait at the door," Blaze told him, frowning deeply, "Well… what are you doing here, Shadow? I assume it's important."

"Very," Shadow produced his Chaos Emerald, "You should come with me now."

"At this time of night?" Blaze paused and looked Shadow up and down. She was far too polite to mention his current appearance, but right now he looked more like a hobo than the Ultimate Lifeform.

Shadow finished Blaze's tea and put it to the side, "Right now," he told her again, "It's about Amy."

"Amy?!" Blaze nearly jumped forward to go with Shadow. Then she sniffed. There was another scent in the air. She narrowed her eyes, "Where's Lucille?" she asked him.

"Okay then. We'll do this hard way," Shadow smirked wickedly, "But that's what I brought this Chaos Emerald along for!"

"The hard way…" Blaze gritted her teeth and snapped her fingers, where a flame began to grow, "What did you do with Lucille? And why are you really here?"

"As visiting royalty, I'd have expected better security for you," Shadow told her, "Then again, the men at the gates didn't actually see me _walk_ in." Then he shifted, "CHAOS SPEAR!"

"Fire Claw!" Blaze returned.

The two attacks clashed, but Shadow's was clearly the superior, and consumed Blaze's attack. They started to circle each other grimly.

"What's wrong with you, Shadow?" Blaze asked, flexing her hand, "This isn't like you at all."

"This is exactly like me," he replied, "Black Tornado!"

"Fire Boost!" Blaze and Shadow clashed again, and continued circling.

He chuckled, "You're going to suffer, Your Majesty. Until you beg to die. But you won't; I don't want to start a war. Besides, I have better plans…"

She looked into his wild red eyes, and recoiled in realisation, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Aw, you spoiled the surprise!" Shadow sneered.

"You… _You_ raped Amy!" Blaze cried out, "_You_ put her into that coma!"

"Uh... yeah, surprise!" he laughed, just as he fired a Chaos Lance at her. It slammed into her, and knocked her against a wall. She slumped, staring up at him in fury, He grabbed her hands, "Look at you. You know nothing about true hardship… No rough skin. I bet you've never swept a floor, or chopped firewood, or laid out a body. No scars either. I shall remedy that…"

"SPINNING CLAW!" Blaze lashed out, scratching at Shadow's cheek. He jumped back, and she hovered a little off the floor, "Ha!" she narrowed her amber eyes, her flames starting to grow in her anger, "You, Shadow? You threaten _me_ with pain? You accuse _me_ of ignorance? I, whom _age?!_ Look at you, Shadow! So what if you are immortal? That which is immortal cannot age! That which cannot age, cannot change! That which cannot change, cannot learn! That which cannot learn, cannot know! And _you_, Shadow… You know less than the poor day-old beast that died in the woods yesterday, and _that_ is a _fact!_"

Shadow stared up at her in shock. His hand touched his scratched cheek, which was even now ceasing its bleeding.

_How dare she speak like that of us! You're the Ultimate Lifeform!_

"But she says…"

_You were made to heal Maria! By insulting you, she is saying that you are unfit to save Maria! Now are you going to take her before you're spotted, or must we do the job?!_

"Just watch!" Shadow snarled, "I'll do it!" He started to charge, "CHAOS…

"FLAMES OF…"

"BLAST!"

"KILEKION!"

The two heavy attacks hit each other. There was a moment of confusion. And then Shadow brushed himself down. Most of the room was burnt or on fire, and it was spreading fast. Admittedly his fur was slightly charred, but Blaze… well, she was flat out cold. The reason she wasn't dead was because her attack had slightly cushioned her from his.

"Nice try, Your Majesty," he picked her up roughly, "Now, time for fun…"

He charged himself rapidly. The fire would make investigating the battle scene a nightmare. But from the sound of it, fire crews were already arriving outside. Well, of course they were. Blaze was the Ambassador for her dimension, and a princess to boot.

"Oh, the fun we'll have…" he laughed. Then he fired up a Chaos Control, and fled the scene.

* * *

Breech: There's just something about this story. In the original, I became sick of how many people Shadow was paired with at the exact moment that I discovered Shadow/Cream fanfics. So I figured, hell with it, let's see how they like it when Shadow fucks EVERYBODY, systematically and insanely.

It turned out that they DID.


	9. Betrayal Of Sight

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: Well, it's Blaze's turn for a nice little bit of abuse. I don't want to repeat methods of agony too much. There's so much torture and so on...

* * *

Chapter Nine: Betrayal of Sight

When Blaze woke up, she was being held in a vertical position, and her arms were tied above her head, and her body felt slightly singed all over. Not singed from fire, but she knew Chaos Energy, if only because it was so similar to Sol Energy.

She looked around at the filthy basement in horror. Shadow was sitting right there in the corner, smirking at her and tossing and catching the Chaos Emerald, "You're quite the Warrior Queen, I'll give you that," he conceded, before tucking the Emerald away, "But I am the Ultimate Lifeform. _Nothing_ can defeat me."

"Where have you taken me, Shadow?" she asked him angrily, "How long have I been here?"

"Just a little place I call home," Shadow smirked, "My Chaos Blast knocked you out for almost forty-eight hours. You should think yourself lucky to still be alive… or maybe not…" he leered.

"Whatever you have planned for me, though you may make me bleed or scream or weep, you will not make me beg," Blaze told him grimly, "You can only take my dignity if I allow it to be so."

"Strangely, I believe you," Shadow smirked, "As royalty you've been brought up with good manners. So I'll have to settle for what I'll get from knowing Sonic is probably writhing in terror and rage. Oh, and Silver too. And Sonic by extension of Silver. Silver has the _hugest_ crush on you, by the way. I've seen how he acts around you."

"He does?" Blaze hoped she could keep Shadow talking until she could work out what was going on. She tried to twitch out a flame to burn the rope… but she couldn't bring anything forward.

"No matter," Shadow stood up, "You see these?" he held out his wrists, and tapped the gold bracelets on them, "They're called inhibitor rings. On me, they merely moderate my power use; they keep me from blowing it all off at once. Sometimes I've needed to. Like when I fell from the ARK…" he growled painfully at the memories, "But on an ordinary mortal, they basically strip you of your powers. So if you will, Your Majesty… no playing with fire, hmmm?"

That was when Blaze realised that there were heavy rings on her wrists too. She snarled in frustration, still trying to get out a spark, "Why are you doing this, Shadow? Have you completely lost your mind?!"

"I'm not crazy…" Shadow reached onto the table. When he stood up, he was winding a heavy leather whip around his hands, his teeth gritted, "It's quite simple really. The punishment for treachery is death. I was betrayed. BETRAYED! He DROPPED me!"

"Who?" Blaze asked as Shadow stepped behind her. She maintained her anger. Whatever Shadow had planned for her – probably something to do with the whip – she refused to accept it without knowing the reason.

"Who do you THINK?!" he asked, "SONIC!" He raised the whip, and brought it down against Blaze's back. She was still dressed, but even though her clothes, it tore a line of pain and drew her to cry out.

Blaze gasped a few times, blinking back tears, "So why not fight him instead?" she snarled.

"It's so much more than him, Your Majesty," Shadow hissed, "Oh yes, he dropped me… he left me to die… but then… then you all had the gall to insult me! Every day I lived you insulted me!" he brought down the whip with a *snap*.

"GAH!" This time the whip tore through her jacket, and left a long red welt on Blaze's back, "What do you MEAN, insulted you?!"

"SEE?! YOU'RE DOING IT AGAIN!" Shadow stepped in front of her, and tilted her chin, "You accepted that ridiculous fake without question! And even when the proof was presented to you all, not once did you doubt him! WHAT ABOUT ME?!" he screamed in her face.

"Shadow, I… I don't understand!" Blaze gasped. She was so dreadfully confused right now. Shadow was clearly insane. His words made no sense; it was as if he expected her to know what he was talking about without the slightest explanation, and her failure to do so only infuriated him further.

"Of course you don't…" Shadow stepped behind Blaze again. There was another crack of the whip, and Blaze cried out again, "YOU NEVER DID!"

"Sh-Shadow…" Blaze tried to piece together his ranting in her mind, certain that she could grasp it if he'd only give her a few minutes of peace to think with, "I can't possibly understand… I only started visiting Mobius a few years ago…"

Shadow stepped around her, "The friend of my enemy is my enemy," he told her. He looked her up and down, and then gave her a nasty smirk even as he ran his tongue over her lips, "You may not be the most busty of chick-a-dees, Your Majesty, but I can see why he likes you…"

"Do you plan to rape me?" Blaze asked him, determined to not show her fear. She was terrified, but she didn't want to give Shadow the pleasure of seeing it. She didn't yet understand that her fear was just a bonus, "Then kill me? Or will you do it the other way around, perhaps?"

"It's tempting. Terribly tempting…" Shadow put his hands on her ass and squeezed, pressing his hips to hers and rubbing, "Oooooh…"

_Go on. Fill her up. You'll love it…_

"Hmmm…" Shadow moaned again, kissing at Blaze's neck as he rubbed at her. With a sudden, smooth movement, he dragged her tights down and squeezing her butt again, "But I don't have a problem with _her_…"

_Hmph. Fag._

"Shut up. I don't need to, okay?"

_You don't need to be doing this either, but you are._

"This is fun…" Shadow hummed a little to himself. Then he dug his fingers into her thong, and snapped it easily, "Fun. Hmmm…"

Blaze shuddered as Shadow rubbed his hips to hers. She pressed her thighs close together as she listened to him moan his pleasure over her fear and disgust. She could even feel his erection growing. Against her belly. He wasn't looking into her eyes, just kissing at her neck.

After a little time though, he stepped to stand behind her. Now she could feel his erection rubbing against her back. He continued to kiss and lick at her neck, as one of his hands groped at her breasts, the other fingering her vagina. It was almost gentle. It was almost arousing. It was completely despicable.

Blaze shuddered at Shadow's sexual intrusion, trying to pull away from him as he squeezed hard enough to bruise. He was talking to himself, mumbling a confused quarrel. There were clearly voices in his head, and a part of him was trying to fight them… but it was not an argument she wanted to join in.

_You could pretend she's Amy._

"With those breasts? Ha! I don't think so…"

_Then maybe you could pretend she's Sonic? Like, practice? You know what we're going to do with him when we get to him…_

"Maybe… heh… maybe…" Shadow's grope got more painful on Blaze's behind, "No. Her ass is too big." He vaguely heard Blaze growling, "So shut up, we stick to the plan. Fucking her was not part of the plan!"

Still, he continued to kiss and lick at Blaze's neck for a little while, before he stepped back again.

"What do you mean, my boobs are too small and my ass is too big?" she snapped at him, "So, you're a leering pervert as well as a psychotic freak."

"Oh, now you DO want a fuck?" he asked mockingly from behind her, still squeezing her hard. He rubbed himself against her harder and faster, until his cock was fully hard. And then he used his hand on himself. She was suddenly terrified that he really was going to force his way into her. But then he came over her back and butthole with a cry of pleasure, continuing to smear it between them until it was all done.

It was deeply humiliating and terribly scary, and Blaze hissed between her teeth, "You sicko…"

Shadow laughed mockingly and stroked his sticky hand on her cheek, "No offence Your Majesty, but while there's plenty about you that's to be enjoyed, you're just not my type. Too…" he waved his hand vaguely, "Well, whatever." He picked up the whip again, "It's not part of the plan."

"Is your plan to start a war between our dimensions?" she asked, "Because you certainly will if I die here… And you'll be responsible for thousands of deaths, not just mine."

"Oh Blaze, you think it's all about you…" Shadow chuckled, "This is not about you… well, not for me, anyway. This is about _Sonic_."

He cracked the whip, and again it sliced into Blaze's back.

* * *

It was about two hours later. Shadow was sweating and breathing hard. And Blaze could feel blood pouring down her back from the cuts from the whip, almost seventy of them. He had taken several short breaks, just so that she could feel the pain sink in. Her clothes had been torn to shreds. She had indeed screamed a great deal, and started crying, but true to her word, she had not begged.

Shadow had not given up. He had simply tired of abusing her, for whatever reason. He had ranted; at her, at the voices in his head, and at Sonic, who wasn't even there. She hadn't been given a chance to work out what all of this was about. All she knew for sure was that something had abruptly driven Shadow completely insane, and there was no reasoning with him.

But it seemed he was done with her for now, stepping around her so that his crazed red eyes met her tearful amber eyes.

"So…" she whispered, tears running down her face, "What… do you plan to do with me? Surely you don't plan to… let me go…"

Shadow shook his head, "Give the lady a prize…" he told her softly, "No. No…" He licked away the tears running down her face, before stepping behind her. This time he wrapped his arms around her chest, squeezing it and moaning as he rubbed his chest fur against her bloody back, "No… That's not the plan…"

"Then… what is your plan?" she asked, shaking a little.

He stepped back again, and pulled out a cell-phone. After a moment, he took multiple photographs, saving them for later. Then to her disgust, he started to lick her back clean of the blood with his warm tongue. She did her best to remain stoic as he purred a little and continued to squeeze at her, "You taste… of copper," he murmured, "Strangely appropriate…" He continued for some time before stepping to face her, "Now this…" he picked up a pole, "This is what I used to beat Amy unconscious. But when I'd finished hitting her, I realised I'd forgotten something. So I had to fuck her up her cunt while she was out cold. Heh heh heh…"

"Shadow, you are _sick_," Blaze spat at him.

"You don't understand. I _had_ to knock her out," Shadow smirked, "Otherwise she might see where I'd taken her. Also, it was fun. But now I have this," he held up the red Chaos Emerald, "I can take you straight to your final location. No savage beating required."

"How… grateful I feel…" Blaze growled.

Shadow stepped forward and gripped Blaze around the waist crushingly tightly, "Chaos… CONTROL!"

* * *

When the feeling of disorientation passed, Blaze opened her eyes cautiously. She wouldn't admit it, but she was scared. Her back still burned with the many lashes from the whip, her hands were still tied and the inhibitor rings were still on her wrists. Shadow had said he had no plans to rape her, but she wasn't going to trust him on that. But she wasn't expecting him to let her go, because the first thing she planned to do was tell everybody absolutely everything she had seen and heard, and he most surely knew that.

Now her arms were tied behind her back. He was still holding onto her, his arms wrapped tight around her, and squeezing her a little perversely too. So… he'd moved her. But where to? And why?

And then a fat, obnoxious voice spoke behind her.

"Princess Blaze! I do believe I'm in the presence of royalty! How honoured I must be!"

Blaze managed to turn a little, and gasped in horror.

"Doctor Robotnik!"

* * *

Breech: *cracks knuckles* So… Shadow _didn't_ kill Eggman at the start? And this _is_ Eggman's style? What the hell is going on?! If you thought things were horrible this chapter, it doesn't get any nicer and it doesn't get any less screwed up.


	10. Betrayal Of Sand

The Greatest Betrayal

By Breech Loader

* * *

Breech: Okay, here is where it starts to get major-league messed up. The original didn't have Blaze in it. More people, more torture! And in the end, isn't that what Sonic the Hedgehog is all about?

The title of the first chapter has been changed, but nothing else is different.

* * *

Chapter Ten: Betrayal of Sand

Amy looked across at Shadow, who was still hugging his knees. They were still sitting on the black sand, facing the mountains. Nothing had changed since she'd come here. There hadn't even been a breath of wind to stir the sand, "Shadow?" she asked suddenly, "How wide is this desert anyway?"

"I don't know," he whispered, "for some people, it's just a few steps… for others it's very wide indeed…"

"What changes it?" she asked.

He shrugged blankly, and hung his head, "Amy… I'm sorry," she looked at him again, "For keeping you here. I… I told you I took a few steps but I lied… When I got here I… I looked at all that sand… I haven't moved… I didn't even take a single step… I couldn't bear to be here alone… But I can't cross, I just can't… so I made you stay here, and wait with me…"

"You did?" Amy's eyes widened, "Then just how long have I been here?"

"I don't know… But Amy, this isn't a dream," he whispered, "This… this really is real… and it's not… but mostly it is. You… You're in a hospital. Comatose, and between life and death."

"And you've been keeping me in a coma?!" Amy cried out, furious, "Just so I'd keep you company?!" She slapped Shadow across the face.

"Oh, please don't shout! Anybody could hear!" Shadow looked like a frightened, lost child. His voice fell again, "You should go on without me… wherever you're supposed to be," he whispered, "You need to wake up…"

Amy was still angry, but she hesitated, "And leave you alone here?"

Shadow looked at her, his expression rather helpless. He stood up shakily, and she did too, "But you should go back. You need to… to help stop all of this… Right now you're the only one who can. At least, I think you are… But that's not important, because if you don't hurry, there will be more who can and… and…" he swallowed fearfully, "Well, it's not important. You really just need to wake up."

"Well, how do I go back?" Amy asked him, "Do I have to cross the desert? Or do I turn around?"

Shadow scratched at his arms. Then he stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the mountains, and gripped her arms tightly before he kissed her on both cheeks, then on her forehead, "I know this is a lot to ask of you, but please, try not to forget this place, hmmm?"

Then he swung his arm hard, knocking her back and away from him. She gasped as he heard his words shouted to her, echoing across infinity.

"**I'LL C**ATCh up wit_h you_…"

* * *

Sonic's hands had started to shake every time he got a phone call now. But he was carrying it just the same. The cops were tracking every call he got – but since the Voice destroyed their phone each time, that made it almost impossible to track him. _Now_ he got it. Tails had been a diversion – this time. Amy had turned up on _Blaze's_ doorstep. And then a few days later, Blaze's mansion had burnt down and she was nowhere to be found, but her maid's body had been found, throat slashed.

Blaze controlled fire. She could burn her house down but why would she? The only answer was that somebody had overpowered her, even as she used her fire abilities.

If Sonic had thought the press had gone crazy over Cream and then Amy; that was nothing to the complete disappearance of a visiting Princess. Both the Mobian and Sol Dimensions were going absolutely nuts looking for her. And Silver was going even more nuts than the two of them put together.

His phone rang, and again his hands started to shake. But he snatched it up just the same.

"Who is this?!" he all but screamed.

"_Sonic the Hedgehog,"_ somebody spoke calmly, _"This is the Hospital. We've called to bring you some news."_

"It's about Amy! What's happened?!" Sonic shouted, jumping to his feet, "I'm on my way!"

"_No, no, it's not bad news, it's good news,"_ the doctor told him, _"A couple of hours ago, Amy Rose Blossom has shown a very sudden improvement! She hasn't quite woken up, but her brain activity has substantially increased. She's entered REM sleep, and she should be ready to wake naturally in a few hours."_

"I'm still on my way!" Sonic threw himself out of the door.

* * *

"Doctor Robotnik!" Blaze gasped.

Blaze had sometimes wondered at what point in his life the Doctor had put aside mere science and indulged in schemes for world domination. And why. Insanity – like moustaches – seemed to run in his family. After all, his own father – by most accounts a genius in his own field - had been committed when Eggman was 22.

"Your Majesty," the Doctor nodded with a smug expression on his face.

She looked at Shadow, "You're working for him?!"

Shadow's eyes widened. He punched Blaze right down to the floor, "I'M WORKING FOR NOBODY!" he screamed, "THIS WAS MY IDEA! IT'S WHAT I WANT TO DO!"

Eggman laughed even as a couple of Egg Pawns grabbed Blaze and held her still. Once again she tried to summon up fire, but the Inhibitor Rings remained firmly on her wrists, "That _is_ true. This was indeed Shadow's idea. To torture Sonic by taking away all of his friends and allies slowly and agonisingly. I simply provided the means. And I insisted he not kill you upon your turn. You should thank me that you are still alive, your Highness…"

"I thank you for nothing!" Blaze spat back. She didn't believe one word Eggman said, "Now I see what's going on here! What did you do with the _real_ Shadow, you fat bastard?!"

She gasped as Shadow slapped her fiercely, "YOU WILL NOT TALK TO THE DOCTOR LIKE THAT, WHORE!" he screamed at her, "I OWE HIM MY LIFE! AS DO YOU!"

Breathing hard, Blaze looked at Shadow. There was no rationalising with him; she understood that now, "So, Doctor," she spoke to the scientist instead, "Just what do you plan to do with me?"

"With you? I plan to find out exactly what your Dimension will hand over for your safe return," Eggman looked smug, "Like Sol Emeralds. Of course, since you are alive it would spoil my good friend Shadow's plans to start negotiations right now, so you'll have to wait a while…"

"So how am I supposed to spread terror with her hideously mutilated corpse if I don't have one?!" the dark hedgehog whined like a child, "Why won't you-"

"Because you disobeyed me, Shadow," Eggman told him nastily, "My spies tell me that not only is Amy Rose Blossom still alive – after I specifically told you that your vengeance would work best if you killed her, no less – but she is returning to consciousness even now! What will that do for your wonderful ideas?"

Shadow hesitated, "I… I have failed you, Doctor," he muttered, bowing his head.

"And you know what happens to failures, Shadow," Doctor Eggman looked smug, "Failures promise something, and then they go back on that promise – they are as bad as liars, and what happens to liars?"

"They… they must be punished." Blaze watched in shock, as the Ultimate Lifeform removed his filthy trenchcoat and bared his back. He sank to his knees, and faced away from Eggman.

The doctor turned away from both Blaze and Shadow, and reached to a table, where he picked up what looked like a whip. Blaze's eyes started to widen, "Now, the hedgehog used leather on you, your majesty. But I find that the… aha… Ultimate Lifeform… needs his discipline administered by something with a little more kick…" Eggman flicked a switch, and Blaze gasped as it was shown to be an Electro-Whip.

"You _can't_ be serious!" she spoke angrily, "Shadow! Are you seriously going to allow him to-"

"I failed. That makes me a liar, and liars must be punished," Shadow spoke flatly, placing his hands, palms down on the floor. She could actually see him _trembling_. Surely this couldn't be Shadow?!

Eggman tossed the whip to an Egg Pawn. Well of course, Blaze thought sourly, the Doctor wouldn't bother to do his own dirty work, "Start flogging him," he ordered the robot, "And don't stop until I get back."

He gestured to the Egg Pawns holding Blaze tightly, and they walked out of the control room. The last thing Blaze heard from Shadow as she was taken away, was the crackle and buzz of the Electro-Whip, and an anguished cry of pain from the broken-down monster.

* * *

Sonic had been sitting by Amy's bed for over an hour now. The doctors had told him that attempting to do something like shake Amy awake before she came around by herself could result in her simply going back into a coma. The waiting was terrible, but at least he could see the difference; her breathing was stronger, and she was more restful and less agitated. Her sleep was almost natural, and not forced.

"Amy…" he whispered, "I still don't know if I love you… but I know that I care, and I'm gonna stop running away from you. We're going to clear all this relationship stuff up, and-"

"Hrrrm…" Amy shifted, her head turning towards Sonic. The cobalt hedgehog froze up for a second, and took her hand, "Uuuuh…"

"Amy?" he pleaded. He didn't dare to move away from her, "Amy, please, please wake up. It's me, Sonic! I'm right here! I'm not running away or anything!"

"S-Soooon…" the pink hedgehog breathed deeper, and Sonic could swear her eyelids were fluttering open, "Nnnngh… Sonic…" she sighed, and sank down again. And lay still.

"Amy… please! Come back!" He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, "I'm right here; you never left me before! Amy? Amy!"

And then her emerald-green eyes opened slowly, and she whispered, "Sonic?"

"AMY!" Sonic grabbed her and hugged her tightly before she could get away from him again. Then he burst into tears, "Oh thank god Amy… you're back, I was so scared… I missed you so much…"

"Sonic…" Amy managed softly, "Sonic… where… where am I?"

"Amy, you're in the hospital after…" he hesitated.

Amy started to cry as her memories began to flood back to her, "Oh Sonic, it was… so… so horrible! He raped me and he beat me and he laughed and…" she started to shake in Sonic's arms, "I hurt; I hurt so bad!"

"Oh, Amy…" he hated this. He didn't know what to say. His friend had just come out of a coma. And now he was afraid that she would go back into it, but he had to know about this monster that had hurt her so badly, "Amy… You know, the cops are gonna come and ask you questions about this bastard…"

Amy started to shake, "Oh Sonic… it wasn't… it wasn't like that…" she wept, "He wasn't… it wasn't…"

"Amy? What do you mean?" he asked her softly, rocking her gently, "You can tell me anything…"

"It… it was SHADOW!"

"What?" Sonic pulled back a little, confounded, "Shadow? Shadow did all of this?!"

Amy was sobbing all over again, "Sonic, don't ask me if I'm sure! I know what I saw; I know what happened to me! I know it sounds crazy, but honestly, honestly he's who I saw! He's gone insane and… and I don't know what's happened to him but… Oh god…"

"_Shadow_ did this to you?" Sonic's expression hardened even as Amy wept in his arms, and he started to growl, "I'm going to _kill_ him…"

* * *

"You _disgust_ me," Blaze told Eggman. She could see his face and he clearly wasn't bothered by her opinion. She continued anyway, "I don't care if this was all that fake Shadow's idea – _you_ set that poor wretched creation of yours loose, and _you_ should be held responsible!"

"Faugh!" Eggman spoke smugly, "He's my slave; I'll do with him as I will!"

"And that's another thing; what did you do with the _real_ Shadow?" Blaze asked angrily, "That's some sort of poor clone that you've created and manipulated to believe he's the original, and he trusts you! And you just order him to take his punishment like one would abuse a dog! Ugh!"

"How do you know that wasn't the real Shadow?" Eggman spoke pompously.

"Because the _real_ Shadow would never simply submit to you like that! He would never become a murdering, raping monster!" she returned, "No wonder you were able to manipulate him like that! Clones are never perfect; the photocopy is never as sharp as the original!"

"You're too clever for your own good, Your Majesty," the doctor nodded, "That _is_ true… come with me a moment…" she didn't have much choice, since the Egg Pawns dragged her. He walked down several corridors, and finally opened a door. She gasped at the hundreds of pods with clones growing in them. Most were hideous freaks – and these, even as she watched, were rapidly flushed out. These were then replaced with new growths. Only those that appeared the most identical to Shadow were permitted to continue growing.

"Doctor… how did you ever sink so low…" she murmured in horror. Seeing these clones being flushed out with a fluid of a dark red, almost black colour was stomach-turning. Much as she was angry at the fake Shadow, she couldn't help but think of how that poor sick creature was being thrashed right now in the control room.

"If you think _this_ is bad, you should have borne witness to some of the things my Grandfather did to create life!" Eggman laughed, "Now come along your majesty. You know I can't allow you to simply run free in my base."

The disgusted Blaze was pulled along more corridors, until she was faced with a heavy door. The doctor opened the door and ushered her inside. The room was quite well furnished – infinitely better than the basement Shadow had held her captive in. But it was still a cell.

"You will be well taken care of until the Sol Dimension pays the price for your return," he informed her, "Although of course, considering your powers I could use a few clones of you…" he smirked. Before she could reply, he took the ruby ring in her hair and pulled it sharply, allowing her fur to fall loose, "You should enjoy my hospitality while you can, your majesty," he told her, "My less willing guests are rarely treated with such grace."

The door slammed shut, and locked.

* * *

Breech: Right. I've got to stop you from feeling sorry for Shadow. Or maybe it's not Shadow you're feeling sorry for… Either way, I've got to do something about that.


End file.
